


Soak Up the Sun

by SSA_SarahSunshine



Series: The Life of Kassidy Hughes [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminal Minds Setting, Angst, Attempted Kidnapping, Attempted Sexual Assault, Behavioral Analysis Unit (Criminal Minds), Blood and Injury, Bodily Fluids, Crimes & Criminals, Criminal Minds non canon, Drinking, F/F, F/M, FBI, Falling In Love, Fear, Fluff, Heroes, Hotels, Hurt OC, Hurt Spencer Reid, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, It's Criminal Minds so things from the show, Kidnapping, Love, M/M, Major Character Injury, Multi, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Female Characters - Freeform, Past Rape/Non-con, Rape, Romance, Self-Harm, Sexual Assault, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Romance, Slow Romance, Spencer Reid Romance, Submissive, Violence, bau, falling in love with spencer reid, soft smut, sometimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:33:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 49,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28600740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SSA_SarahSunshine/pseuds/SSA_SarahSunshine
Summary: CURRENTLY BEING RE-WRITTEN! WILL EVENTUALLY BE DELETED AND REPOSTED!Kassidy Hughes is the newest and youngest member of the BAU in Quantico, Virginia. She became fast friends with the rest of the team since she joined them only a few months ago, quickly proving herself an asset to them. But as the cases slowly grow more gruesome, closer to home, and eventually start targeting the team themselves, will her quick wit and training help her to save them?A non-canon story about young love, adventure, and of course murder. Meet my OC Kassidy as she goes toe-to-toe with the craziest serial killers imaginable, alongside everyone's favorite team. Some of the cases take inspiration from the show, while others are written by myself. This story starts in season 6 (somewhat).All characters from the Criminal Minds show belong to the writers of the show itself, not to me. The only character I solely own is Kassidy herself.
Relationships: Spencer Reid/OC, Spencer Reid/Original Character(s), Spencer Reid/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Life of Kassidy Hughes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179065
Comments: 8
Kudos: 51





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, thank you for clicking on my fanfic! I've been OBSESSED with Criminal Minds for a couple of months now, and finally broke down to write my own blossoming romance between my OC and everyone's favorite Doctor Reid. This is a slow burn so don't expect too much right away, but I promise I'll eventually get to the good stuff <3
> 
> Please feel free to leave feedback. I promise I'll read and reply to every message!
> 
> Now enjoy my story!  
> 

She couldn’t move. That was the first conclusion she came to, however slowly, when opening her eyes. Her whole body was concrete, her weight heavily solid against her bed. She blinked deliberately, her thoughts sluggishly slow. What was happening right now? 

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, the moon’s favorable light casting a silvery hue across her bedroom. Her curtains swayed peacefully as the nighttime breeze came through the window. Her closet door hung open just slightly, her yellow book bag hanging from the coatrack beside it. That was all she could see, her head refusing to turn just as her body refused to stir.

Okay, so, she was in her bedroom. It was still night, most likely around 3am, seeing as that was when she usually awoke on sleepless nights. But something was different this time. She couldn't move. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. Maybe if she could fall back asleep, she could get a few more hours before work? Because honestly, everything felt normal and safe. And yet, why was her heart suddenly pounding in her ears so loudly that she could no longer hear the sounds of the city beyond her bedroom?

Her breathing had quickened so abruptly that she felt she couldn’t get enough oxygen. Her eyes shot open, flicking back and forth in a panic, trying desperately to see the danger. That’s when she noticed the closet door opening staggeringly slowly, its hinges creaking every time it moved. Desperately, she fought to keep her eyes open, afraid that if she closed them, she would miss whatever or _whoever_ was trying to get her. 

But in her panic, she must have blinked, for, without warning, she felt the cold metal of a gun pressed against her forehead. A dark shadow was hovering over her, their features unrecognizable; their whole being was pure blackness. The gun clicked as the shadow cocked it. She squeezed her eyes closed. 

‘ _Iiiii’m gonna soak up the suuuun. Gonna tell everyone to lighten up._ ’

Her eyes shot open as she sat up, sweat beading down the sides of her face. Her chest heaved, heart pounding. Wait, where was she?

Her phone was ringing. It was morning. She was safe. Sheryl Crow's voice came from somewhere to her right. She blinked the sleep from her eyes a couple of times before reaching for her bedside table, smacking her hand on a couple of things before finally grabbing her cell. 

_'Iiii'm gonna tell em that Iiii've got no one to blame-'_

“Hello?” she managed to sound almost-normal as if her whole body wasn’t coming down from a nightmare-induced panic attack. 

“ _Hey Sunshine_ ,” a cheerful voice replied. She could hear his smile. “ _Just wondering where you’re at. We got a meeting in about 10 minutes, and I’ve never seen you this late before. Is everything good?_ ”  
His words took a heartbeat too long to process. A meeting? Oh, right.

“ _Kass?_ ” He asked again when she didn’t reply. 

“Y-yeah, oh man, I slept in. My alarm must not have gone off,” she stammered as she climbed out of bed. Using her shoulder to hold her phone to her ear, she started digging through her dresser for something acceptable to wear. “Sorry, Morgan, oh my god. This never happens, I swear-”

He laughed, “ _Calm down, Hughes, you’re fine. You wouldn’t be the first to be late to a meeting, and you won’t be the last. But uh, don’t make it a habit, kay? Hotch wouldn’t like that._ ”

“Yeah yeah, okay. Thanks for being my wake-up call, Morgan. I’ll be there in about 15 to 20 minutes. Don’t start without me.” With that, she hung up, tossing her phone onto her bed before pulling on a yellow blouse and black pencil skirt. The skirt was a little wrinkled, but it would have to do—no time for ironing it today. Pulling the outfit together with some black tights and her signature yellow slip-on's, she hastily brushed her blonde hair before pulling it up into a high ponytail. 

Grabbing her book bag, almost forgetting her phone, she was out the door. 

Morgan was leaning against his desk as she came rushing into the bullpen. He shot her his signature charming smile, “Long night?” There was a lightness to his voice, a calming demeanor that always made her smile in return. She set her bag down at her desk, “You could say that,” she replied as evenly as possible, “I couldn’t put my book down. Ended up being around 3:30 this morning before I finished.” He rolled his eyes, “You’re almost as bad as Reid. You two need some kind of obsessive reading anonymous or something.” She felt her smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, “Just because you don’t know how to read books without pictures doesn’t mean you can tease us,” she replied. 

“Ouch,” came a voice from behind her. Her eyes settled upon Rossi’s, the older man shaking his head as he handed her a cup of coffee, his smile playful, “You gotta be nicer to Derek, Sunshine. His ego can’t take hits like that.”

“Alright, alright,” Morgan put his hands up as if in defeat, “That’s enough now. It’s on though, Hughes. That one will sting my heart for years to come,” he placed a hand over his heart to make his point. Rossi smirked before looking back to Kassidy, “You do look like you didn’t sleep too well. I made sure to make it a double,” he referred to the latte she now held between her hands as though it were her lifeline. She felt her smile soften at him, “Thanks, Rossi. This will help.” 

“Come on now, we can’t make Hotch wait too much longer. You might make a crack appear on that stone face of his if you do.” 

Kassidy nodded, taking a quick sip from her coffee before following the two to the conference room. It tasted like hazelnut and vanilla. How did Rossi know how she liked her coffee?

Profilers, she mused to herself. 

Gathering around the round table was never fun. It always meant that they would be looking at deceased victims' photos, which never became easier. As the days turned to months since Kassidy Hughs joined the BAU, she was at least feeling more established in the team. She had transferred from the ETI unit in Las Vegas, her innate ability to notice micro-expressions and read body language being the primary reason for the move. She was good at what she did, and she loved her job, but it still wasn’t easy. 

“This is Justin Derrel,” Penelope Garcia started, an image of the young man, while he was alive, showing up on the screen behind her. “He was found yesterday morning in an alley behind the club he worked at as a bouncer in New York City. He was beaten to death. You can see those images on your tablets,” she motioned around the room with her hand. If anyone hated looking at death more than Kassidy, it was Penelope. 

Kassidy glanced down to her tablet, swiping through the images. The man wasn’t even recognizable. There were multiple bruises and cuts along his entire body, the worst of it around his head and chest. It was clear just by looking at him that he died an excruciating death. 

“It looks as though the UNSUB used a blunt object to smash in his face,” Emily Prentiss said slowly. 

“Yes, a bat,” Penelope replied, pulling up a picture of a bloodied metal bat on the screen, “This was found in a dumpster near the body.”

“Why leave the murder weapon at the scene of the crime?” JJ asked, her eyes studying her tablet. 

“Were there prints?” Kassidy peered up at Garcia, already knowing the answer. She shook her head. “Then, that’s why. No prints mean we couldn’t pin the weapon on anyone anyway. This UNSUB is either smart or disorganized.” 

“The wound pattern on this man’s face and head coincide with a lot of rage,” Spencer Reid muttered as his eyes flicked back and forth on his tablet, “This seems personal.”

“Or that he didn’t want the body recognizable,” Kassidy interjected. Penelope shook her head, “No, he left the man’s wallet with his ID on him.” 

“Okay, so rage fits then,” she pursed her lips together in thought. “And a lot of it. Justin was a big man, so it must have taken someone equally as large to take him down. Bat or not, he was a bouncer, and most bouncers are put through training to protect their clubs.”

Rossi set his tablet down, glancing to Hotch, “Why are we taking on this case?”

“Because this is the second bouncer to be taken out in the last month,” Hotch replied without looking up from the paper file in his hand. Penelope brought up another photo on the screen, “This was Kevin Smith. He was killed in the same way at another club right across the street. The same M.O. with the bat left behind.”

Kassidy glanced around the table at her colleagues. She could see the wheels turning behind their eyes. 

“So we have an alpha-male who wants to take down other strong alpha-males in the clubbing scene of New York?” JJ stated as a question. “Or the UNSUB maybe someone who wasn’t allowed entry to those clubs, so he’s taking out his rage on the people who wouldn’t let him in?” Emily countered. Hotch picked up his file and tablet, “Get your go-bags. I have a feeling that we’ll be in New York for at least a couple of days. Wheels up in an hour.”

With that, everyone stood, gathering their things in a quiet compilation—everyone except for Kassidy, who continued shifting between the photos on her tablet. The first murder was on there too. She refused to flinch at how gruesome the scenes looked. Those poor men. 

“Hey,” her eyes flickered up at the lean man who stood beside her, his satchel over his shoulder, “How are you feeling today?”

She managed a smile, “I'm fine. What’s up, Reid?”

His brown eyes were calculating. His messy hair has been growing out again, she noted. He pushed a strand behind his ear as he spoke, “You have dark circles under your eyes,” he licked his bottom lip. She set her tablet down, “Oh yeah, I didn’t sleep much last night. I was reading the original _Dracula_ again.” It was a lie, she knew that, but he wouldn’t. Learning how to decipher when other people were lying helped train herself how to lie better. It didn’t always work, especially because she was usually a straightforward person to read, but she could get away with anything when she was confident and concentrated enough. 

He seemed to be studying her a heartbeat longer before accepting her answer. “That is an excellent book,” he fiddled with his fingers along the strap of his bag, “Did you know that although _Dracula_ is widely known as the first vampire novel, that isn’t true. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published a poem titled _The Bride of Corinth_ in 1797, where a young woman dies of grief and returns from the grave as one of the undead. Later Sheridan Le Fanu wrote _Carmilla_ in 1871 about a lesbian vampire who falls in love with a human girl named Laura. _Carmilla_ actually predated _Dracula_ by about 26 years.”

“Oh! I’ve read _Carmilla_ , though I have not read the poem. Perhaps I should check that one out next?” Kassidy’s smile brightens, “I’m a sucker for love stories. _Dracula_ isn’t really a love story, I guess, but it's better than _Twilight._ ”

Reid pauses a moment at her mention of _Twilight,_ causing her to shake her head and mumble, "Nevermind."

Reid finally cracks a smile after another beat, “I um, I have a copy of _The Bride of Corinth_ if you’d like to borrow it? I have it in German and French too, so you can borrow the English copy.”

“Oh, thank you, Reid,” Kassidy stood while slipping her tablet into her bookbag, “Maybe I can borrow it when we get back from the case?”

“Yes, of course,” he took a step towards the doorway, “I’ll bring it to the office sometime.” He hummed, fingers still drumming along his satchel. 

“Speaking of books,” Kassidy interrupted his thoughts, “Did you bring anything to read on the plane? I know it’s probably only an hour ride from here to New York, but I didn’t grab anything on my way out this morning,” she stepped up next to him, “Running late and all.”

He tilted his head in thought a moment before snapping his fingers, “Oh, I do keep a collection of old titles in my desk for when I finish my paperwork early-”

“You always finish early,” Kass giggled. His cheeks flushed a little, “I guess I do. Still, I can let you look and see if there’s anything you’d like?” She smiled and almost bounced down the stairs towards his desk, “Sure! I just don’t want to have to listen to Morgan’s loud iPod if I can’t help it.”

“Watch it, Newbie,” Morgan grinned as he sipped on his coffee, feet up on his desk as he leaned back in his chair, “My taste in music is the most defined thing about me. Don’t diss it.”

“Oh chocolate thunder, that is not the most defined thing about you,” Garcia teased as she walked past him, her hand lingering on his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows, “Oh, you’re right, mama, how could I forget my taste in women?” She smirked in reply, “That’s right, boo.”

Kassidy rolled her eyes, opening the bottom drawer of Reid’s filing cabinet, exactly where she knew his books would be. “You two are going to be the reason why Strauss has a heart attack.” Morgan shrugged, watching as Penelope walked away towards her tech cave. Reid took his seat in his chair, swiveling back and forth in it idly as he watched Kass scan the covers of his hardbacks. 

Emily examined the team, the corners of her eyes wrinkling a little in thought, “You guys aren’t going to go over the case before we leave?” She questioned. Reid didn’t look away from Kass before replying, “I already did. The theory about the alpha-male looking to take down stronger alpha-males doesn’t look to be too promising. UNSUB’s like that tend to go after people with authority, such as cops, not bouncers. I’m leaning towards your theory about him being enraged by being either kicked out of the club or not allowed in. We’ll have to ask the club owners if they have a list on those people-”

“Oh my gosh!” Kassidy gasped, her three coworkers all looking at her. “What?” Morgan asked, sitting up a little with interest. 

She gaped up at Reid, her eyes sparkling as she held a book, “I didn’t know you had _The Trial_ by Franz Kafka! I loved this book back in college. It’s such an extraordinary story-”

“Oh jeez,” Morgan leaned back once more, his eyes almost rolling to the back of his head, “You two are such nerds.”

She didn’t let his words get to her, instead not taking her eyes off of the doctor who sat before her, “May I borrow this one? I would love to reread it.”

Reid’s smile was soft, his brown hair bouncing a little as he leaned forwards, his cheeks the slightest shade of pink; she noted, “Of course. Just as long as you promise me you’ll put it down so you can get some sleep tonight.”

“Pfft,” she wrinkled her nose, “Fine.” She felt her cheeks warm up under his gaze. She loved being close to him; she thought to herself. He understood her love of literature.

“Alright, people, let’s get ready to go,” Hotch’s voice called out across the bullpen. The four looked up at him, “What happened to an hour?” JJ asked as she walked out of her office. 

“There’s been another body.”

Taking her seat beside the window before Morgan could steal it, Kassidy pulled her book bag into her lap. The other agent came up right behind her, putting the biggest pout on his face when he saw her in his spot, “Oh come on, Hughs,” he practically pleaded, “You know I love that seat.” She stuck her tongue out, “You weren’t fast enough,” she teased in a sing-song voice. He creased his brows together before seeing JJ board behind him, “JJ, Kass stole my spot.”

“Kids,” she said in her mom-voice, “Get along, or I’ll turn this jet around.”

Reid glanced up from his book, “The jet hasn’t even taken off yet-”

“Exactly.” She took her seat beside him, eyeing Morgan to sit down. He did so with an exaggerated huff, sitting in the chair beside Kassidy. The two of them stuck their tongues out at each other. 

Rossi chuckled, “Might I remind you two that Hotch wanted you two at the newest crime scene when we land. You’d better get along.”

Kassidy shot a smile at him before looking back at Morgan, “Come on, Rossi, we’re only playing. Morgan likes it when I’m mean to him.” She laid a light smack on his arm as if to prove a point.

“I like everything you do to me,” Morgan winked. Reid stifled a sudden cough, bringing his book uncharacteristically close to his face. JJ chuckled to herself before buckling in her seatbelt. “Seatbelts everybody. We’re about to take off.”

Taking a deep breath, her emotions suddenly shifting from playful to serious, Kassidy followed her lead. The taking off part was always the worst part of flying. Being in the air was fine, the landing was fine, but the sudden drop of her heart into her stomach as her ears popped when they flew into the sky always made her feel sick. She pulled _The Trial_ from her bag and opened it to the first page. When reading, she was always transported into another world, whether the world of the book itself or just the safety of her mind; it didn’t matter. She hoped that she’d be deep into chapter 3 by the time they officially took off. Because then maybe she wouldn’t notice nausea that crept into her stomach. 

It didn't escape her notice that Reid was watching her, studying her expressions. He raised an eyebrow when their eyes met, a mixture of curiosity and concern crossing his features. She managed a smile, "I'm fine," she assured. Morgan patted her on the shoulder before giving a small squeeze, "We know you are, Sunshine. Don't think we haven't noticed your anxiety spiking once we're on the plane, though. You're surrounded by profilers- who, all of which, have been put in cramped quarters with you many times in the last seven months." She found herself blushing, giving Morgan the side-eye before looking back down at the first page of her book. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. Her colleagues all settled into their seats, preparing for the take-off. 

She'd be okay. She was a flipping FBI agent.

At least this next hour would be quick. 

She was almost halfway through the book by the time the jet touched down. Throughout the flight, she overheard some conversations revolving around the case. Mostly, some theories were being thrown about, but she knew better than to think too deeply on any of them yet. They needed to see the crime scenes first; interview the witnesses and families. She never made a point to stick to a theory until she had all the facts. 

With a slightly bumpy landing, the jet finally came to a complete stop. Sliding her book into her bag, she unbuckled her belt and stood, “Alright, Morgan,” she grinned, “You can drive this time. But only if you follow the traffic laws.”

“Oh come on, baby girl,” he let out a long sigh before raising his eyes at her with a wicked smile, “You know I can’t make that promise.”

She held her hand up as a pair of keys landed in her grip. He turned to see Hotch had tossed them to her. “Then she drives.”

Morgan frowned as Kass slid past him, a smirk playing on her lips. He put his hands on his hips, “That isn’t fair, Hotch.” Hotch pretended not to hear him as he deboarded the jet. 

They walked across the tarmac towards their signature black SUVs. Kassidy tossed her go-bag into the back of one, taking Morgan’s from him and setting it beside hers. “Let’s go to the crime scene first,” she started towards the driver’s side, “We’ll stop at the hotel to drop our stuff off later.” 

“That’s a good plan, Newbie,” Morgan nodded as he slid into the passenger side. Kass waved to the other two vehicles as everyone went to their separate destinations, starting the car. 

They rode in relative silence to the crime scene, which was odd. Kassidy sent a sideways glance towards Morgan’s way, wondering what was keeping him from turning the radio on like he usually did. Instead, he was staring at the tablet in his hands, reading one of the files. 

“So what do you think, Hughes?” He finally asked as they paused in traffic. She pursed her lips together. “Well, firstly, I don’t like how it was almost a month between the first two victims, and then a day between the second and third,” she said slowly. He nodded, “I was thinking that too. If he’s taking out his rage on bouncers who won’t let him into clubs, that could explain the sporadic time between the killings. Still, this seems disorganized. Someone else could die tonight if we don’t figure out who he is.”

She nodded solemnly. So that’s why he was extra quiet. She must have missed something on the plane, she realized, having been reading the whole time. She didn’t want to bring it up now, though, seeing as they could see the flashing lights of the crime scene ahead. 

Stepping out of the car, the two of them flashed their badges to the officer standing nearest to them. “FBI,” he said almost coldly, “What are you doing here?”

Morgan and Kassidy exchanged a look between them, “We were called to assist the investigation,” Morgan replied, “Who’s in charge here?”

“I am,” a woman said as she stepped under the police tape. She held out her hand to shake theirs, “Sorry. I haven’t briefed all my men about your presence yet. I’m captain Dollaway.”

“Derek Morgan,” he shook her hand first. “Kassidy Hughes,” she smiled as their hands connected. “Thank you for coming. Where’s the rest of your team?”

“Some went to the station to set up, the others to an older crime scene to see if they could gather any information there,” Kassidy replied. Her eyes settled behind the captain at the body in the middle of the alley, a blanket draped atop it. 

“May we see the body?”

“Of course.”

Walking steadily towards the scene, Kassidy felt her insides flip. This was the part she hated the most out of anything: the bodies. She could still picture the previous victims from the photos they all had studied earlier. Hopefully, this wouldn't be as bad. Maybe she'd be prepared for what was to come. 

She wasn’t. 

Morgan lifted the blanket to reveal what was left of the victim’s head. There were so much blood and brain matter that the stoic agent himself had to look away. Kassidy turned with her hand over her mouth. She had to hold herself back from gagging.

“Well,” said Morgan after a moment, “it seems as though the beating is escalating.”

“You can say that,” Captain Dollaway replied, her brows knitted together. Morgan dropped the blanket, still kneeling and looking around the alley. “Was the body found here?”

“I think so-”

“Someone moved him,” Kassidy stated. Her right hand was still over her mouth as she motioned towards the back door of the club with her left. She let out a shaky breath before continuing, “You can see some blood by the door, as well as drag marks. It looks like someone took water and poured it on the concrete,” she walked over to point it out, “Like they were trying to wash the blood away. By why do that if he left the body in the middle of the alley?”

“To make sure someone saw him,” Morgan said the words she was already thinking. “But they didn’t want us to know it came from the club. Which is odd, considering every victim so far has been a bouncer at said club.”

“Maybe it’s not the hiding where the victim worked, but where the UNSUB killed him?” Kassidy tapped her fingers along her hip, thoughts racing. “He was killed inside the club, then dragged out here?”

Morgan nodded, standing up. “Have you checked out the inside of the club yet?” He asked the captain. She nodded, “Yes, and we already asked the owner and wait staff some questions. They’re still inside,” she lead the two towards the door. 

Once inside, Kassidy winced against the darkness that overtook them. Outside it was bright and beautiful; still morning. Inside it was almost pitch black as if the place didn’t know what daytime was. Only some neon lights lit up the hallway they were in. 

Some officers walked around as they investigated the place. Kassidy pulled out her phone and used the flashlight to scan the floor. She saw the slightest smear of blood and motioned to Morgan to see. “It looks to be coming from the bathrooms,” she said quietly. The two followed the hastily cleaned blood path in that direction, walking into the women’s bathroom. 

Kassidy frowned at the sight of more blood coming from one of the stalls. “So this seems to be the murder scene.”

“Hey Kass, look,” Morgan walked to the sinks, “There’s some blood in here. Whoever did this came back in and washed up before leaving.” He peeked into the trash can, using a paper towel to pick up a bloodied white blouse. They shared a look.

"Ah," Kassidy started, pursing her lips together, “Our UNSUB is a woman.”


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will the team catch the UNSUB who is attacking New York City bouncers before she kills again?  
> Also some more cute and innocent flirting between Kassidy and Reid, whether they know it or not.
> 
>   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for much for reading! I would love any feedback you wanna give me

“You came to the same conclusion?” Kassidy asked when she finally settled in a chair at the table; papers splayed out all over. JJ nodded, “Yeah, the other scene was cleaned up, but we have photo's that were taken in the woman's bathroom there too.”

Derek spun in his chair, stopping short of his legs smacking into Emily’s, “So the UNSUB is a woman, attacking bouncers who are most likely twice her size. That’s why she uses a bat. To subdue them quickly.”

“Yeah, but if I saw a woman coming at me with a bat, I’d dodge it, or at least try to fight back,” Rossi stated with a shake of his head, “These victims had no defensive wounds that the M.E. could find. It was like they were unconscious during the attack.”

“Were there drugs in their system?” Emily asked, peering over a file in her hand. 

“No, nothing in the first and last, but second had some ecstasy.”

“Comes with the job probably,” she muttered. 

Reid was staring at the map on the board, having already put pins at the three scenes. He stood up and used a red marker to make a circle around the area, then pointed near the center, “If this is the UNSUBS comfort zone, she probably lives nearby." He pointed with the pen, "There are a couple of blocks of apartments in this area, which is approximately 468 residents. They are all close enough to kill the victims, clean up, and return home without being seen.”

“That’s a lot of people,” Kassidy muttered. 

“Well, yes and no. Out of those 468, only 219 are women. Assuming our UNSUB is a single woman,” he started writing on the board with the marker, “That leaves us with 98 possibles.”

“Why are we assuming she’s single?” Morgan asked.

“Because of the nature of the beatings, and what time they occur. If a married woman were doing this, she would have a husband or children who would have noticed something; the blood or her disappearances at night. Coming home without the shirt she left in. The club scene is usually for single people anyhow,” Kassidy answered for him. Reid nodded, “98 is still a lot of people to comb through, so we’ll have to interview the owners and coworkers again to see if we can find something that’ll narrow it down.”

Hotchner nodded, looking between his team members, “Hughes and Reid, I’ll have you stay here to interview the families. The recent victim, Jared Johnson’s family, has just arrived.” Kassidy nodded, looking past him to see the older looking couple sitting in the room beyond them. They looked so sad. 

“Morgan, you and I will go back to the most recent scene so we can ask the owner some questions. I want to see it with my own eyes.” Morgan nodded and stood up, stealing the keys away from Kassidy before she could even register what was happening, “Fine with me, boss man, but this time I’m driving.”

“You’re a menace to society,” Kassidy teased. He shrugged and winked as he wandered towards the door. 

Sitting down across from the parents of a victim was never easy. Kassidy watched as Jared’s mother held her husband’s hand, her eyes red from crying all morning. 

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” she started with a calm voice, “I’m sure this is hard for you.” 

Jared’s father, Bill, kept glancing at her then back down. Interesting. 

“This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to us,” the mother, Carrie, responded, “I can’t believe I was just talking to him yesterday. He was so happy.”

Kassidy nodded, offering the two of them a bottle of water. Carrie took it thankfully, although just to hold it in her shaking hands. 

“What was Jared happy about?” She asked. Carrie smiled a little, “He had a new girlfriend. He was telling me about how beautiful she was. They were talking about moving in together.” She caught a sob, “Oh no, I wonder how heartbroken she must be?”

“What was her name, Carrie?”

“Heather,” Bill answered, “He said her name was Heather. A girl who worked at the club with him as some slut-”

“Bill!” Carrie looked at him, her eyes wide, “How dare you? She was a good girl, and our Jared was in love with her!”

“That doesn’t mean anything to me,” Bill said with hardness in his voice, “Once a working girl always a working girl. She’s probably the one who made him start stealing money from us too- to do drugs.”

“No, Jared never stole from us!” Carrie turned to Kassidy, her eyes pleading, “I swear. He never stole- Bill just always have something to be mad at our boy for. He’s been mad since Jared was little; always a mama’s boy and never wanting to do what his dad wanted him to do.”

Bill’s stare hardened, “Dammit Carrie!” He slammed his hand on the table, making Kassidy flinch. “He was stealing money! I saw him do it! He took $200 right out of your purse, and you pretended to have misplaced it. I know you knew it was happening too!”

Carrie’s eyes were watering again. 

Kass reached out and took her hand in hers, “Okay, okay, calm down. There were no drugs in your son’s system when he was found. No alcohol either,” she said calmly, “If your son was stealing money from you, it wasn’t for drugs.”

Carrie let out a deep breath, “Oh, thank heavens. I knew my baby wasn’t doing drugs-”

“Then what? If he needed help with rent or bills, we would have helped him!” There was pain behind Bills eyes, “He knew that.”

“I’m not sure, Mr. Johnson. That’s something we’ll figure out, okay? Do you happen to know Heather’s last name?”

“Um, Charles maybe? Ch something.” Carrie hiccuped and wiped at her eyes. 

“Okay, thank you, Mrs. Johnson. You two have been a great help to us. My colleague will come in with some more questions for you in a moment, but in the meantime, drink some water and take a deep breath.” Kassidy squeezed Carrie’s hand and smiled. Bill refused to look at Kassidy. 

Standing, Kassidy left the room, closing the door behind her with a sigh. Reid and Rossi were standing there, both watching the couple behind the glass. 

“I wonder if this has something to do with the girlfriend,” Dave finally said, shifting from one foot to the other, his hands in his pockets, “She could be our UNSUB?”

“How do you figure?” Kassidy asked as she stepped up beside him, her eyes scanning his features. “Maybe she dates these big strong men, takes their money until they have nothing left, and then beats them and moves on?”

“No,” Reid said so matter-of-factly, “That would be plausible between the first two victims considering the time spent between them, but with the second and third, that doesn’t make much sense. No time to date.”

“Unless she’s dating more than one at a time,” Kassidy butt in. She pulled out her phone, “I’ll see if Garcia can find this Heather. Should be easy to narrow down since she worked at the same club as Jared. And if she isn’t the UNSUB, perhaps she’ll have noticed something about her boyfriend that she can tell us.”

"While you're at it, Kass," Reid glanced at her, "See if she can pull up the finances of all three victims. If all three were stealing money from their families, then that's something else that can connect them." 

Kassidy nodded as Penelope's voice rang out on the other side of the phone. " _Genie of the tech lab speaking, what three wishes can I grant you?_ "

"Hey Garcia, can you check the latest club, Club Diamond, and see if there's any Heathers who worked there?"

" _Uno Momento Sunshine._ " She replied. The sound of Garcia's super speedy typing was heard on the other side of the line. " _Okay, so it looks like there's a handful of Heather's. You have a last name?_ "

"Something that starts with a C. Like Charles."

" _Got it. There's a Heather Chambers who lives two blocks from there. She works as a waitress it seems. I'm sending you her address now._ "

"Thank you, Garcia. While you're at it, can you send over the last years worth of finances from all three victims?"

" _You know it, sweetness. See you in a jiffy._ " With that, she hung up the phone.

"We got an address," Kassidy looked to Reid, "You wanna come with me to check it out?" Reid's eyes quickly moved from Kassidy's to Rossi as if asking a silent question. The older agent chuckled, stepping towards the door to the interrogation room, "You two go. I'll finish up the interview here. Let me know if you find anything." 

"Sure thing, bossman," Kassidy replied with a thumbs up. "Come on, Doctor, I'm driving."

"That's what I was afraid of," He muttered under his breath, giving her a teasing smirk when she looked back at him. 

Rossi rolled his eyes, "Hurry off, you two. We only got a couple more hours before the clubs open for the night."

"Right," they both replied.

Heather’s apartment was a mess. Kassidy stepped over a toppled lamp as she trained her gun ahead of her, each step deliberate and slow. She turned down the hallway, pushing the door to the bathroom open, then the bedroom. She sighed, putting her gun away after hearing Reid’s voice from the kitchen, calling, “Clear.”

“Spencer,” she replied, “We have a body.”

Her colleague appeared by her side almost as silently as she had been earlier. He held a frown as he took in the scene before him. 

The bedroom was as destroyed as the living room, an obvious sign of a struggle. Blood was splattered on almost every surface, the victim (assumed to be Heather) laying on the bed. Her face was as bashed in as the others before her, a metal bat on the floor. 

Kassidy pulled out her phone, Hotch answering without it getting to the second ring. 

_“Hotchner.”_

“We have another victim,” she said slowly, making sure her voice sounded calm. The scene was gruesome. This one would be in her nightmares for certain. 

_“Where?”_

“I’ll forward the address. It was Jared’s girlfriend, Heather. We came to ask questions, but her door was ajar, so we came inside to see if she was okay. Clearly, we were a little too late.”

 _“Don’t think about that, Hughes,”_ Hotch’s voice was firm, “We’re on our way. Stay put and canvas the scene.”

“Yes, sir.” She barely finished saying before he hung up. 

Just then, she realized that Reid had been studying her instead of the scene. She raised an eyebrow at him, “Yes, Spencer?”

He bit the inside of his cheek, a pink tinge to his features. He turned his attention away from her, clearing his throat, “I’m just thinking,” he hummed, tapping his foot slightly. “Why would the UNSUB change their target like this? They’ve only gone after larger alpha-males at the different clubs, but suddenly they switched victimology to Heather. She even came to her home to kill her.”

“Maybe because the club is closed due to the investigation?” Kassidy mused, pushing some loose strands of her hair behind her ear. Reid nodded before bending down, motioning towards Heather’s hands, “The M.E. said that all the men didn’t have defensive wounds, as if they just let it happen. But Heather here clearly fought back. Her nails are broken from scratching her offender.”

Kassidy bent down beside him, her leg brushing up against his as she squatted. Her eyes were trained on Heather’s arms, “We might be able to find some skin cells under them. The UNSUB will have scratches along her arms and maybe even her face, so that’ll make it easier to spot her.” She stood and looked around the room. Reid’s eyes were on her.

“I wonder if this has more to do with jealously rather than rage,” she muttered as she thought, tapping her fingers on her hip. “What if the UNSUB has like, a crush on the bouncers? They’re big and strong; they protect the women and waitstaff. Finding out they don’t like her back, or are dating someone else, could be the trigger.”

Reid stood up, his hands finding his lower back as he stretched it out, a thoughtful look crossing his features, “That’s possible. This amount of rage does have a bit of a lover scorned sense to it, doesn’t it?”

“Nothing makes sense,” Kassidy replied, turning and leaving the bedroom. She stopped in the living room, closing her eyes a moment and taking a deep breath. She hadn’t realized how much the bedroom just smelled of blood. At least out here, she could breathe normally. Reid came up behind her. She felt his hesitation before he placed his hand on her shoulder, “Are you okay?” His voice was soft. 

She found herself smiling, glancing up at the lanky and awkward doctor, “Yeah. It’s just, you know, a lot of blood. Not gonna lie, I feel a little sick.” He nodded, “I remember my first year on the job. I happened to have many nightmares in that time too, which made cases harder. Have you had them?”

She knitted her eyebrows together, “What?”

“Nightmares.”

Of course. He was a profiler. The whole team was. Her little lie about reading all night was probably not convincing enough. She found herself shaking her head, her shoulders tensing a little, “Well uh, sometimes I have them, ya know? Anyways I don’t think that’s really um, proper conversation right now?”

“Kass,” he bit his lip, “I get it. Just don’t think you’re alone with them, okay? The whole team gets nightmares, trust me. But make sure to talk to someone about them before you let them intrude on work.” She smiled up at him, placing her hand over his, “Alright alright, but only if it’s doctors orders,” she winked, trying to lighten the mood.

Reid’s face turned a shade of red before he pulled his hand away and cleared his throat, “Uh, yeah. Doctor’s orders.” 

Kassidy found herself studying his eyes in the quick moment before he turned away. He had been acting a little more… flustered, that’s a good word for it, around the team lately. He seemed to be embarrassed by her and Morgan’s teasing and flirting, she had noted, and she wondered if they were crossing professional boundaries. 

She’d have to ask later because Hotch and Emily had just arrived.

Standing outside of Heather’s apartment, Kassidy took in a deep breath of the fresh air. She closed her eyes a moment, releasing the tension from her shoulders. Crime scenes weren’t her forte’, the young agent usually opting for interrogation or interviews. Recently, she had noted how Hotch was sending her to the field more often than not. She hadn’t brought it up with him, considering she already knew the reason why. She would be tested in a couple of months, and he wanted her to be ready. 

Emily placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to tense at her partner’s touch, “Hey,” the older agent smiled, “You seem to be miles away right now. What’s on your mind?”

Kassidy felt herself frown as she glanced at the police vehicles parked in the street, a stretcher being walked past the two of them towards the coroner’s van. Her eyes finally settled on Prentiss’, “I just um, can’t get the image of Heather’s body out of my mind, is all.”

“Yeah,” Emily sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, “It was a pretty gruesome way to die.”

Kassidy nodded solemnly, biting down on her lower lip. When she spoke up again, her voice sounded far away, “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” Emily pursed her lips as if she already knew. Kassidy held out her hands, motioning around them, “All of this. The crime scenes, the victims. I’m so used to being in my safe little bubble back at the station, yet in the last two cases, Hotch has put me in the field. I feel like my skills aren’t being used to their full potential out here, even though I _know_ that I want to be out here eventually, but it’s just so hard. Seeing all the blood-” she suddenly stopped, running her hand through her hair and pulling it out of its ponytail. She fiddled with her hair tie as her hair fell in messy waves around her shoulders. She sighed, peering back up at Emily, “Do you know what I mean?”

Emily gave her a small reassuring smile, “Oh Hughs, it’s not easy. Hotch is trying to ease you into it little by little. It took me a long time to learn to separate myself from the job, and I know it’ll take you twice that amount of time.” She paused, looking towards Hotch, who was talking to Reid and another officer nearby. Her eyes resettled on Kassidy, her hand reaching out and giving her arm a small squeeze, “But I’m here if you ever wanna talk about this stuff. Or when you can’t sleep.”

Kassidy groaned to herself, “Was it that obvious?”

“Everyone goes through it. It’s okay.”

“Hey, you two, we have a lead,” Hotch’s voice called out to them. He was already climbing into an SUV, Reid right behind him. Emily smiled at Kassidy one last time, “Let’s go, Sunshine,” the nickname giving her a sense of reassurance. The team had dubbed her ‘Sunshine’ on her very first day all those months ago. It made her feel like she was apart of their little family. It made her smile in return as she followed her team to the SUV. 

At the station, Kassidy picked at the Chinese takeout that sat in front of her. She kept picking up the same piece of broccoli with her chopsticks and dropping it, absentmindedly staring at the board before her. It had been a long day, and judging by the street light that was streaming through the window behind her, it must have been after 11pm. 

Reid was leaning against the table, his arms crossed as he tapped his marker against his bicep. His eyes were analyzing the board as well, mostly settling on his geo-map over and over again. He didn’t want to miss anything. 

The two sat in relative silence like that for quite a while, their food going mostly untouched. After what seemed to be hours, Kassidy leaned back in her chair and yawned, stretching her arms over her head with a pop of her back. 

“You should go to the hotel,” Reid muttered, glancing at her. She shook her head, “Nah. Can’t sleep, remember? Besides, I wanna feel useful.”

“You’ll both be more useful after some rest,” Rossi said as he leaned against the doorway. “This isn’t a case we can solve on little sleep and no food,” he eyed the unopened containers of takeout, “You can’t fight crime on an empty stomach.”

“Easy for you to say,” Kassidy muttered under her breath, eyes focusing on the same piece of broccoli she was still poking. 

Rossi took a seat next to her, pulling one of the containers to him and opening it. The box still had a little steam rising from it while he took some chopsticks and grabbed a bite. He hummed as he chewed, as if it were the best meal he had ever had. Kassidy watched him curiously. The older agent glanced at her after taking another bite, his head tilted ever-so-slightly, “I know it can be hard to eat when you see the kinds of things we see daily,” he started slowly. She looked away from him, staring back down at her own food. She didn’t reply. 

“I saw the crime scene photos,” he continued, “at Heather’s place. That could make anyone lose their appetite.” He pointed his chopsticks at Reid, “Even agents who have been through hell and back can be shaken by the stuff we see. But,” he took another bite, chewing slowly, watching the younger man nervously glance at his own food. He swallowed, “we all learn with time that we can’t put our own health on the line for the case. If we can’t function at our best in the field, then how can we help those who need it?”

Kassidy sighed, finally putting the broccoli in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully before swallowing. Rossi smiled at her, “That’s a start.” She found the corners of her mouth turning upwards a little as she looked at him, “Thanks, Rossi.”

“No problem, Sunshine. It’s my job to take care of you kids,” he reached around her shoulder in a side hug, looking at Spencer, “That means you too, Reid. Make sure to eat your food as well before you go to the hotel.”

Reid nodded slowly before looking back at the geo-map, “I will.”

“You’ll have to do it later,” Morgan’s voice interrupted as he came swiftly into the office, grabbing for an unopened box. Rossi stood up, “What’s going on?”

“We got a 911 call from a club only two blocks from the first one. A woman found a man badly beaten in the bathroom-”

“Sounds like our UNSUB’s M.O.,” Kassidy grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair, “Is he still alive?”

“Barely,” Morgan said with a mouthful of noodles before wiping the back of his hand over his lips, “Hotch wants you and JJ to meet him at the hospital. We don’t have a name yet, but I’ll text it to you when we do.”

“Well, there goes my plans for going back to the hotel,” Rossi sighed. 

“Rossi, you Emily, and I will be going to the crime scene. Reid, you stay here and work on our profile. Hotch wants it ready to deliver tomorrow.”

With that, everyone grabbed their things and went in their separate directions. Kassidy paused in the doorway a moment, glancing back at Reid. She watched him take his marker and mark the newest scene on the map, the wheels in his head turning. 

“Hey,” she said quietly. He looked up at her, “Yeah?”

“Don’t forget to eat something.” She smiled as she turned, following after Morgan and Rossi. Spencer watched her go before glancing back at the food. “I won’t,” he said to no one in particular.


	3. Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team finally catches the UNSUB, but something doesn't feel right to Kassidy.
> 
>   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't seem to find another word for "smiles." I use it too much.  
> Again, thank you for any feedback you can spare!

JJ was already at the hospital by the time Kassidy arrived. 

“What’s going on?” Kassidy asked, noting the grim expression JJ wore. 

“Um, well,” her friend looked towards the direction of surgery, “His name is Justin Baker; a bouncer for _Helious_. He’s in surgery right now. His face was badly bashed in, just like the others. But it seems as though the UNSUB was interrupted, which might have saved his life. They said there’s a lot of damage to repair.”

Kassidy couldn’t hold back her shudder as she sat down, the goosebumps on her arms making themselves prominent. JJ sat beside her, heaving a sigh. The two watched nurses and patients walk by for a while in mutual silence, neither really looking at each other. 

Kassidy must have dozed off, for JJ was tapping her shoulder softly to wake her, holding two cups of coffee in her hands. Kassidy sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she took in her surroundings. Right, they were at the hospital, waiting to speak with the newest victim. She took the coffee from JJ gratefully, inhaling the steam as it rose from the cup. 

“What time is it?” She finally managed to ask after taking a sip. JJ sat beside her, “Almost 2am. Justin came out of his first surgery 20 minutes ago and should be awake soon. He’ll need another to help reconstruct his face, but they’re allowing him to speak with us.”

Kassidy flinched at JJ’s words, the hot cup between her hands suddenly feeling much heavier. “He’s going to be in pain,” she said more as a statement than a question. “They have him heavily dosed,” JJ replied quietly. 

“Would he even be able to answer our questions then?”

JJ sighed, rubbing her right eye, “I don’t know. But we need to try. If he can identify our UNSUB, then we can stop her before she hurts anyone else,” she hummed, “And we can go home,” she added quietly, more to herself. 

Kassidy nodded, her attention being brought to the doctor who approached the two of them. “Agents Jareau and Hughs?” He asked. They both nodded as they stood, “Yes,” JJ replied, “Is he awake?” The doctor shuffled a little, “Sort of. Like I said before, he’s heavily medicated. He won’t be all ‘there’ until maybe 2 or 3 days from now, but he might be able to answer some questions. I have a nurse at his side who will put him to sleep if he gets too upset.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Kassidy said as the two followed him towards the darkened room. 

Justin Baker lay upon the hospital bed, his face and arms wrapped in gauze. Only an eye was uncovered, blinking slowly as he seemed to try to gather where he was. 

Kassidy was the first to approach him, standing to his left and leaning over so he could see her. “Hello Justin,” she said quietly, “My name is Agent Kassidy Hughes; I’m with the FBI. I know you’re confused and in pain, so I’m going to make this quick, okay?”

He managed a subtle nod, and she smiled, “Thank you, Justin. Can you move your hand?” She watched as he sat completely still for a moment before tapping his fingers against his chest. “Good,” she praised him, “I’m not going to make you talk, but instead, I want you to tap once for yes and twice for no. Do you understand?”

He tapped his finger once. 

“Alright. Justin, do you remember what happened tonight?”

His breathing was shallow and labored. He closed his eyes. She could see this was painful for him and was about to reassure him before he tapped his fingers once. 

“Okay, good. Do you know the woman who attacked you?”

He tapped once. 

Kassidy glanced at JJ a moment before looking back down at Justin. “Is she someone you work with?”

There was a pause before he tapped twice.

“Do you know her well?”

His breathing quickened a little before he eventually tapped twice. 

“Was she a club-goer, or customer?”

He tapped once. 

“Okay, Justin, you’re doing so well. I only have a couple more questions, but I want to make sure you have enough strength to answer them. Are you doing okay?”

His eye opened, and he looked up at her. There was a tear streaming down his cheek, soaking into the gauze before he tapped once. 

She nodded slowly, “Okay. If we showed you a picture of her, would you be able to recognize her?”

One tap. 

“Good. Now, did she say anything to you?”

His breathing grew quick once more, the machine next to him starting to beep. The nurse approached, sticking a needle into the IV that was connected to his arm and pushing a liquid into it, “That’s enough,” she stated, “He needs to rest.”

Justin blinked rapidly before the medication started to take effect. He closed his eye and groaned, his voice hoarse and broken, “She… said… _It’s almost over._ ” He took in a ragged breath, his body relaxing as sleep took him over. 

Kassidy looked to JJ, and the two stepping outside of the room, arms crossed and lost in thought. 

“It’s almost over,” JJ repeated. “So this is a personal vendetta? Or does she have a timeline?”

Kassidy chewed on her lower lip, shaking her head, “I don’t know. I feel like we’re missing something; the one clue that will make this whole case make sense.”

“Well, let’s hope the others have that clue. We need to meet back at the station for one last look at what we have before we need to submit the profile tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Kassidy agreed, although she honestly wasn’t listening. She just knew when to smile and nod. She was so tired. 

Reid’s hair was a messy disaster, the rings under his eyes so much more prominent than before Kassidy left for the hospital. His food hadn’t been touched. The young doctor was scribbling on a notepad, doing mental calculations faster than anyone she had ever seen. He didn’t even seem to notice her return to the office, eyes flicking back and forth across the many papers spread before him. 

Kassidy shot JJ a glance before the two sat down, observing him. 

JJ leaned towards Morgan, “What is he doing?” She whispered. He shrugged his shoulders, his eyes half-lidded with sleep, “Who knows,” he sipped his coffee, “I mentioned your text about the possible timeline or vendetta, and he just started doing his super-genius thing.”

Kassidy looked back up at the board, wanting to piece together whatever it was her collogue must have seen. She couldn’t get much farther than wondering if the hotel had extra pillows before Reid suddenly snapped his attention to those in the room, his fingers running through his hair, “I think I know what’s going on.”

“Well, alright, Pretty Boy,” Morgan sat up a little, “Why don’t you share with the class?”

“I think our UNSUB is taking out her own version of revenge on those who were supposed to protect either her or someone she loves. There’s approximately a sexual assault against a woman every 6 seconds in the United States, happening more often in the higher density populace,” he turned and circled the clubs on the map, “The amount of rape and sexual assault calls the New York PD receive around this area is astonishing. Several a night, in fact. Bouncers in these types of clubs specifically,” he pointed to the four that were targeted, “are meant to protect the women who work and visit these clubs. If our UNSUB was raped, or someone she loves was, that could have been the stressor that caused her to snap, for lack of a better word.” He tapped his marker against the board a couple of times, trying to catch up with his thoughts, “Heather must have either seen something or was involved somehow, and our UNSUB attacked her to keep her quiet so she could finish her mission.”

“So is our UNSUB killing every bouncer that works at these clubs until there’s no one left?” Morgan asked, his eyes blinking slowly at the board. 

“No,” Kassidy started, “I think she was preparing for the person she really wants to kill. Attacking the others first to see if she could do it- to build up her nerve and rage. Every killing has been more gruesome than the last. If it’s almost over, then maybe she’s ready to take on her true target?”

Rossi and Hotch appeared in the doorway at the same time, the former glancing at his watch. “Alright kids,” he said in his overly-fatherly tone, “It’s time to get to the hotel. We need to be here at 10am, and it’s already almost 4:00. You all need at least a couple of hours of sleep before we present the profile.”

“I assume by the look on your face, Reid, you figured it out?” Hotch asked. Reid nodded, licking his lips, “I believe so, yeah.”

“Alright, then. Get back to the hotel for the night. We’ll regroup at 9:30. Get some rest.” That wasn’t a suggestion; it was an order. Kassidy started chewing on her bottom lip again. How could she sleep knowing how close they were to solve the case?

Laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, Kassidy hadn’t stopped biting her lip. She could taste how raw it was getting. The red light of the alarm clock told her it was 5:02am. She _really_ needed to sleep, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the bloody mess of Heather’s bedroom. It made her nauseous. 

Rolling onto her side, she stared out the window at the city beyond her little room. She could hear sirens, cars, and the quiet bustle of New York. The city that never sleeps, she mused to herself. She would fit in here. 

She tried closing her eyes again, forcing herself to picture something else. She had debated adopting a cat recently, having been looking at nearby shelters for an older one. Emily had a black kitty named Sergio, and she loved sharing pictures of him with everyone. That would be nice, she considered, having a friend to come home to after every case. A furry creature that would curl up on her lap and purr her worries away. 

She remembered a cute calico she had seen named Cookie Dough. Maybe she would adopt her if she was still available by the time they got back to D.C. 

Kassidy was suddenly awoken by the sound of someone knocking on her door. She groaned and glanced at the clock. 9:03am. At least she got a couple of hours of sleep, it seemed. 

Sitting up, she rubbed at her eyes, “Yeah?” She managed to groan out. 

“Hey, Sunshine.” It was Rossi, “Just giving you enough time to shower before we gotta go. The others are downstairs grabbing breakfast. You want anything?”

Kassidy hummed, pulling herself from the bed and padding towards the bathroom, “Just coffee,” she replied, “I’ll grab something on the way out. Thanks, Rossi.”

“No problem, Hughes. See you soon.”

She could hear his footsteps as he walked away from her door. With a yawn, she reached for the shower. Cold showers were always a quick way to shock her body into the waking world. As she listened to the water patter down against the tub, she peered at herself in the mirror. 

There were dark circles under her eyes, almost as bad as Reid’s the last time she saw him. Her hair was a mess, sticking up at odd ends everywhere. Her blue eyes looked a little red, probably from rubbing them so much. She noticed how thin she was starting to look but decided to ignore it. She needed to wake up, and wake up she did, the moment the cold water touched her bare skin. 

At least it was refreshing. 

The scent of vanilla and hazelnut was heavenly. Kassidy held her coffee to her chest as if it were her lifeline. She grinned at Rossi with a silent ‘thank you.’ He held open the door to the SUV for her, “No problem. Ladies first.”

She crawled into the back, seated right next to Spencer. He looked a little better than a few hours ago, that little bit of sleep obviously helping his dark circles. His hair was still a mess as if he forgot to brush it. He pressed his own coffee to his lips before smiling at Kassidy in greeting. “Morning,” he hummed. She smiled in return, “Morning. Did you sleep well?”

“As well as I could,” he replied dryly, taking another sip of his coffee. “This should help.”

“Is there actually coffee in there, or is it just sugar?” Kassidy teased. He rolled his eyes, “They wouldn’t let me empty the sugar container into my cup.”

“Spencer Reid,” Kassidy mock gasped, “Did you just joke with me? I’m shocked. You _must_ be exhausted- are you feeling well?” She placed the back of her hand on his forehead as if to check his temperature. He flushed bright red and let out a nervous chuckle, “Come on, Kass,” he pulled away from her touch, “I have a sense of humor too, you know.”

“Since when?” Morgan asked as he sat in the driver’s seat. 

“Oh no- who let you drive?” Kassidy pointed an accusing finger at him. “You stole the keys from Hotch, didn’t you?”

“You wound me, Sunshine,” Morgan replied, putting the key in the ignition, “I’m not as bad of a driver as you claim.”

“No, you are kind of a bad driver,” Reid spoke up. Kassidy giggled at Morgan’s surprised face. “Come on, Pretty Boy, why don’t you ever back me up?”

“Well statistically-”

“Okay, no. Let’s just get to the station.”

Kassidy smirked against her coffee cup, peering out the window at the skyscrapers that surrounded their hotel. It was about a 10-minute drive in New York’s traffic to get to the station, so that was plenty of time for her to get caffeinated before they met with the officers. She was looking forward to presenting the profile. That would mean they were one step closer to finding the UNSUB and hopefully putting a stop to any more deaths. 

“The UNSUB, or Unknown Subject, is most likely a woman in her mid 20’s to early 30’s. She’s on a mission to kill the man who she believes failed his job at protecting her from a form of sexual assault at one of these clubs,” Spencer pointed to the 3 clubs circled in blue on the board behind him, having narrowed down the remaining clubs in the area that the UNSUB could be targeting. 

Hotch took a step forwards, “She will have scratches or bandages on her hands and arms from her recent attack on Heather Chambers. She is most likely to be overly protective of herself and will not open up about what happened to her, wearing dark clothes too big for her. She wants to hide from the shame that her attack brought her and has been letting this rage fuel her for quite some time.”

“It’s possible her rapist was imprisoned or even killed,” Emily continued, “Which is why she is targeting Bouncers. Or, the Bouncer himself is who assaulted her.”

“We need to find her as soon as possible. We believe tonight is when she will kill her final target, and we need to stop her before that happens,” Kassidy lead-in, having been leaning against a desk. She sat up and pointed towards the map, “We have circled her comfort zone here and have our technical analyst searching all reported rapes and sexual assaults for the past year that could meet our profile.”

Rossi leaned forwards, “If we cannot find her before tonight, we will need officers placed at each of these clubs when they open. We won’t let her murder again.”

“Thank you for your time,” Hotch gave a curt nod and turned towards his team. His eyes landed on Spencers, “Good job on the profile, Reid. Hopefully, Garcia will be able to help us narrow down suspects.” He turned and approached Captain Dollaway, their voices lost to the bustle of the station. 

Kassidy elbowed Reid playfully, “Hey you heard that? You got praised from the bossman.” Reid smiled, his fingers tapping at his side, “Well I didn’t put the profile together by myself.”

“You kinda did,” she wrinkled her nose at him, “Like the super-smart and super-cool agent you are. Don’t be afraid to accept praise, Spencer.” He blushed a little, his hand pushing some of his hair out of his face. He didn’t reply. 

“Hey kids,” Morgan called to them, “Garcia got something.”

The UNSUB’s name was Jessica Parker. She was a 27-year-old nurse who had been raped 5 months before by Louis Willson, the Bouncer at _Blue Tie_. Her brother owned a sports and hobbies store, where she was most likely getting all her bats from.

Garcia’s fingers were typing so fast Kassidy wasn’t sure if it were humanly possible. What was with all these super-human teammates of hers?

“ _Oh no, that poor girl,_ ” Penelope’s voice came over the phone. 

“What’s up Pen?” Kassidy asked. 

“ _She just had a miscarriage about a month ago. There’s a detailed chart about her visit to the doctors._ ”

“That would be the stressor,” Emily pursed her lips. “The poor girl gets raped and then loses the baby to that rape? It’s no wonder she’s so angry.”

“Yes but normal people go to therapy. They don’t bash people’s heads in with metal bats,” Rossi replied. 

“ _I’m sending you her address now,_ ” Garcia said, “ _She’s in those apartments Reid had circled earlier. Good job, boy wonder._ ”

“Alright, Emily, Reid, and Morgan you’re coming with me to her apartment,” Hotch ordered. He looked at Kassidy, “Kass I want you to stay here and prepare to interrogate her when we return. We need a confession if we want to get her put away for this.” Kassidy nodded solemnly. She couldn’t help but feel bad for Jessica. 

Rossi patted her on the shoulder, “Don’t worry Sunshine, I’ll be here too. Let’s go over some of my tips on interrogation.” Kassidy smiled at him, “You’ve already told me all your tips.”

“Uh-uh my dear, not all of them.”

JJ peered out the window at the news crew outside. She let out a sigh, “I’ll try to keep them here. I don’t think any news vans following you to the suspect’s apartment is a good idea.”

Hotch nodded, “Thanks JJ. Alright guys, let’s suit up.”

It had been quite a while since the team left to apprehend Jessica Parker. Kassidy was sitting in the conference room, spinning in her chair slowly. She already started on her paperwork for when the case was over, and couldn’t do much else since it wasn’t actually over yet. At the sound of footsteps, she peered up and smiled at Rossi, hoping he would give her a task to do. When he didn’t return her smile, she felt it fall from her face. 

“Sunshine-” he started, his cellphone to his ear. She stood abruptly, “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

“They’re okay,” he reassured her, “But she hit Reid in the head with a bat. He’s on the way to the hospital now to make sure there’s no damage.”

“What?” Kassidy felt her chest tighten and her mouth go dry. Spencer was hurt? 

“Which hospital?” She started towards the door, but Rossi held his arm out to stop her, “We’ll go see him soon enough; Hotch is with him. Emily and Morgan are bringing Jessica in now, and you’re still needed here. You need to interview her and get her confession.” His voice was steadier than her whole body felt. She realized her hands were shaking a little. 

“Is that an order from Hotch?” She managed to ask. He eyed her before nodding, “Yes. Once we’re done here we’ll check on Spencer. Don’t worry, okay?”

“How can I not,” she breathed, “He’s my friend and he was hit in the head with a _metal bat!_ That sounds kind of bad to me, Dave.” Rossi blinked slowly at her use of his first name. She was obviously upset. 

“It’s okay, Kass. Just focus on getting Jessica’s confession right now. Okay?”

She struggled with herself a moment, fighting an internal battle to go against direct orders, before finally letting out a breath she had been holding. She nodded, “Okay.”

Soon enough she was seated across from Jessica Parker in the interrogation room. The other woman looked like a real mess, some dried blood stained on her grey hoodie. Kassidy wondered if it was Spencer’s blood. Jessica’s eyes were wild as she looked around the room, looking for an escape. 

Kassidy sat in silence a moment, gathering her thoughts as she observed their suspect. Eventually, she leaned forwards, clasping her hands together on the table, “Would you like some water?” She asked. Jessica narrowed her eyes, “No,” she replied with venom in her words, “I don’t want anything from you. You couldn’t help me when I needed it, so why would I want anything now?”

Kassidy let her words sink in a moment before nodding, “Okay. Just let me know if you would like some later. I can get you tea too if you prefer?”

Jessica spat and leaned back, her hands shoved into her hoodie pocket. She didn’t reply. 

Kassidy pursed her lips, “Look, Miss Parker, I know what you’ve been through-”

“No, you’d never understand what I’ve been through!” She shot back, her brows knitted together in anger, “You don’t know me.”

Kassidy frowned, “I know that you were raped by Louis and that you lost the baby a month ago.”

Jessica’s eyes dropped to the floor, refusing to look back up. 

“It’s okay. We want to help you,” Kassidy said softly, “We want to make sure Louis pays for what he did to you.”

Suddenly there were tears in Jessica’s eyes. She shook her head before rubbing at her face, “I was about to make him pay,” she laughed bitterly, “Make him pay for the pain he caused me. How can I ever live a normal life now? He took that from me.”

Kassidy allowed the room to be silent for a moment before responding, "You took away these people's lives, Jessica." She didn't reply, just staring at her hands. Kassidy pulled the photos of the victims from her folder, laying them out on the table before her. She pointed to each one, "These people deserved to live as much as you do. Why did you take that away from them?"

Jessica's eyes darted from each photo, lingering a moment on Heather's. There was a pause. Kassidy recognized it as confusion. 

"Did you know Heather, Jessica? She was murdered just like the others," she pointed to her photo. She studied Jessica's reaction, noting that the woman sitting across from her did not, in fact, recognize Heather's portrait.

Jessica gathered herself, taking a few deep breaths, “I just can’t…” she hesitated before glancing back up at Kassidy, “Do you want a family, agent?”

Kassidy blinked in surprise. She debated a moment before answering slowly, “Maybe someday, yes. Do you, Jessica?”

“Yes. I was trying to get pregnant with my boyfriend, Jake, for a year. Then I got raped and happened to get pregnant with that monster’s baby?” Her words were quiet, deliberate. “Jake left me. I told him I wanted to keep the baby, that he could raise it as his. I had been trying for so long- I didn’t know what to do,” tears started streaming down her face, “But then I lost her. I named her too. Caroline. I was ready to start decorating the nursery and I just..” She closed her eyes. 

Kassidy leaned forwards and took Jessica’s hand in hers and squeezed. Jessica didn’t pull away, instead, she squeezed back. She took another shaky breath before opening her eyes, “Am I going to jail?”

“I don’t know,” Kassidy answered honestly, “You might be put into a mental care facility instead. It’ll depend on many factors. The jury will be sympathetic to your cause, however, and I know that for sure. It’ll be easier if you confess, as well.”

Jessica slowly nodded, sniffling, and wiping at her face. “Okay. How do I do that?”

Kassidy watched Hotch's face as he studied the file in his hand. After a moment he sighed, meeting her gaze. "She didn't kill Heather," he concluded. Kassidy shook her head, "No. She didn't have any scratches like Heather's murderer would. She didn't recognize her at all, Hotch. That means we have another killer."

Hotch leaned forward, setting the file down, "I'll talk to Captain Dollaway about it. Clearly, we have a copycat of some kind. They knew the murder weapons were metal bats. I'll look into this, Hughes. You go see Reid now."

She found herself smiling and nodding, turning on her heel a little too quickly before rushing out the door. 

She was the first into the room, her face lighting up when she saw Spencer sitting up already, reading a book. He glanced up at her and set it down, his own smile growing, “Hey Kass,” he greeted. She reached over and picked up his book, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, “Hey yourself,” she replied, making sure to mark his page with his bookmark before closing it.

“ _War and Peace_?” She found herself smiling fondly at him, setting the book to the side and turning back to him, “How do you feel?”

“Well, the doctors say I have a mild concussion, which isn’t surprising. I got a bit of a bump,” he reached behind his head to feel it, “but the swelling should be gone soon.”

“And you’re reading that monster?” She pointed to the book, “I think people with concussions are usually told to rest. Or am I wrong?” He pursed his lips in thought, “I just needed something to pass the time. I hate hospitals.”

“I know you do,” she teased. She found herself relaxing in his presence, her shoulders not as tense as they were on the ride over. Her smile softened a little, “You’re lucky, you know. A metal bat to the back of the head could have cracked your skull.”

“Oh I know,” Reid replied, “Thankfully she didn’t hit me that hard, having not been expecting me. But if she hit a little harder it could have caused temporary or permanent blindness, or even the loss of speech. There was also the possibility of broken or shattered teeth, paralysis, or instant death-”

“Jeez kid, you sure know how to cheer us all up,” Morgan said as he leaned against the doorframe. Reid blushed under his gaze, “sorry,” he mumbled. Morgan smiled, peering between Reid and Kassidy, “I’m glad you’re okay too, Pretty Boy.” 

“We all are,” Hotch agreed, stepping into the room. “Now rest up, because we have a flight to catch tomorrow. We all want to go home.”

“Yes sir,” Reid smiled. Kassidy smiled too, feeling a huge weight lift itself from her chest. Thank goodness this case ended with a happy ending. Or as happy as it could be.


	4. Part Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new case presents itself while Spencer is healing from his concussion. Will the team catch the UNSUB before someone else on the team gets hurt?
> 
>   
> 

It was odd to be in the office without Spencer. After they returned home, Hotch had given him strict orders to take a week off. Kassidy found herself staring at her friend’s empty chair, tapping her pen absentmindedly on the notebook in front of her. By this hour, she would usually be begging him to leave his work for ‘just a little bit,’ as she convinced him to get something to eat. The group would get lunch somewhere or order in, but this whole week was thrown off just by Reid’s absence. 

She flinched when a hand appeared on her shoulder, glancing up to see Penelope smiling down at her. “You want to go get lunch?” Garcia asked. Kassidy returned her smile, “Sure. But only if we go to that taco stand down the street. I’m feeling like regretting my decisions later.”

Morgan let out a chuckle as he peered up from his work, setting his pen down. “That sounds like a plan I’d love to be a part of. Am I invited to lunch with you lovely ladies?”

“Of course, sweetness,” Garcia blew a kiss in his direction. He pretended to catch it and place his fingertips to his lips with a wink. Kassidy stood, stretching her arms above her head and hearing her back pop. Oof, sitting at a desk all day was not good for her, she decided. 

Emily let out an agitated sigh before glancing up at them, “Can I come too? I need to step away for a moment. This report is so dull.”

“No, no, we draw the line at allowing super amazing and super gorgeous agents joining us for lunch,” Kassidy wagged her finger before allowing herself to laugh a little, “Of course, Em.” Emily rolled her eyes. However, her smile betrayed her. 

The small group made their way to the elevator, Kassidy digging around her book bag to make sure she had her wallet. Today she was wearing a pastel blue top with fake buttons down the front and some black slacks; her signature yellow shoes matching her bag. Penelope’s bright yellow dress with polka dots was the only other colorful thing within a mile radius. 

“So, Sunshine,” Morgan started as the elevator descended slowly, “Have you been in touch with Reid?”

Kassidy pulled her eyes from her wallet as she was counting her cash to Morgan. She smiled, “Yeah, I’ve been calling him every day after work. He’s so bored,” she found herself chuckling, “He just wants to be back at the office so bad. If it weren’t for Hotch, he would be.” She let out a hum as she pushed her wallet back into her bag. 

Emily and Morgan exchanged a look, but Kassidy caught it. She made a point to return their face with one of her own, “It’s not whatever you two are thinking, guys,” she adjusted the strap of her bag, “He just wants to be up-to-date on how everything’s going. He’s going to be back on Monday and is just so excited to leave his apartment for a bit. The poor boy has already read and reread his whole library.” She couldn’t help but smile again, thinking about how Spencer sounded so exasperated on the phone yesterday. 

She had been lying on her couch, staring at the ceiling as they talked. He complained about how when he couldn’t focus on something, his thoughts were allowed to wander, and Morgan was _always_ telling him to stay out of his head. She offered to bring him some of her books so he’d have something new to read, but she could hear how he shook his head, “ _No, you don’t need to do that. I might just rewatch Star Trek,_ ” he’d muse. 

She was brought back to the present, remembering how she had packed a bag with some books earlier that morning. He’d probably read them all before the end of the night if she managed to drop them off after work, but at least he’d have something new to look at for a moment. 

Morgan shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his hands in his pockets, “Alright, alright, don’t get so defensive, Sunshine. You know we’re just teasing you.”

“You two do seem rather close,” Garcia hummed, winking at Kassidy. She rolled her eyes in response, “Perhaps because we’re the only two on the team who can appreciate a good book and love to learn about more than how to shoot a gun.” Morgan pretended to be wounded, his hand going over his heart, “I’m not that simple of a man,” he jested. Emily took her turn to roll her eyes. 

The doors opened to the main floor, some agents waiting to step in as the group exited. They started towards the large glass doors, Kassidy leading the way with a bounce in her step. She turned around and started walking backward, pointing at Morgan, “As a not-so-simple man, I propose you pay for lunch today.”

“Are you that broke, Hughes?” He laughed. She felt her cheeks flush just a little before pushing onto the door, “No- of course not! You’re just a gentleman, right?”

“If that’s the case, then you can’t be buying that number 9 meal-”

All of their phones’ text tones went off simultaneously, making the group stop mid-walk. Morgan let out a groan as he checked his. Emily pursed her lips together, “Rain check?”

“Yeah, guess we’ll have to eat on the jet,” Morgan replied. Penelope pouted, “Gosh, I hate when our jobs don’t let us have lunch.” 

“Me too, Pen. Let’s go back,” Kassidy started walking towards the elevator. She didn’t realize how hungry she was until she wasn’t allowed to eat. 

Being on the jet without Spencer was odd. Kassidy sat in her usual spot, staring out the window at the clouds that passed them by. Hotch and Rossi were going over the case’s facts: four girls of the same description having gone missing in the past month in Montana. All blonde with blue eyes, thin build, and all in their mid 20’s to early 30’s. After the third one, the local PD had suspected they were connected, but they didn’t call in the BAU until the most recent was taken earlier this morning. 

Kassidy always felt odd when the victims resembled her, as these did. Peering down at her tablet, she combed through the photos of the girls. They could all be her sisters. Or JJ’s.

“Right, Sunshine?”

She peered up at Rossi, blinking a few times to register that he was talking to her. 

“Oh, um, sorry, Rossi. I wasn’t listening.”

“I could tell,” he chuckled, taking the seat across from her, where Reid usually sat. He folded his hands in his lap, leaning forwards a little, “Where are your thoughts right now?”

She glanced back down at the tablet, then back to him, “I was putting together victimology. I know we usually wait to talk to the families first, but this UNSUB has a type. Blonde, pretty, with blue eyes.”

“You’re right. Do you see anything else that connects them?” He was testing her. 

She cleared her throat, scanning through the files on her tablet. “They all live in the same town, about a 20-mile radius between their homes. Their finances show they all go to the same coffee shop-” she cut herself off a moment, wheels turning. “What if the UNSUB works or goes to that same coffee shop? He sees girls who fit his needs and then follows them?”

“That’s good, Hughes.” Hotch nodded his approval, having been standing in the aisle beside her. She looked up at him, smiling at the praise.

“When we land, I want you and JJ to go to the coffee shop, see if they have cameras. If not, ask the employees if they recognize the girls. Hughs, I want you to study their reactions when you show them the images.”

“Yes, sir.” 

“Morgan, you and Rossi will go to Grace’s residence and talk to her parents.” The most recent missing girl, Grace George, had been missing for only a few hours. Kassidy noted that the other girls hadn’t been found, meaning all of them could be alive. Hopefully. 

“Emily and I will set up at the station. Until then, get some rest; we have another couple of hours until we land.”

Kassidy turned her tablet off and placed it in her bag. She found herself pulling out her phone, checking for any new messages. There was one. 

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
Anderson dropped off your package. Thank you for the books. Let me know when you land?_

She found herself smiling, that familiar feeling of warmth filling her body when she talked to him. There was just something pure about Spencer Reid, and she valued her friendship with him over everything else. She was glad that he got her books. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
Let me know when you finish reading them and what you think, also of course. Hotch said it’ll be another 2 hours, maybe._

She set her phone in her lap and closed her eyes, her forehead leaning on the cool window. It would be about 5pm local time when they arrived in Billings. Maybe she could convince Emily to stop and get some food before they headed to the coffee shop. 

Her phone vibrated.

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
I already finished with Harry Potter. I’ll admit that I didn’t want to, but I got too bored not to. I didn’t know you were into young adult fiction? I don’t tend to read this sort of thing, as you know, but I will admit that I can understand why there seems to be a cult following for the series. I’m waiting to read the Narnia series tomorrow, so I’ll have something to do. Any suggestions on what I should do with my time now?_

She felt the corners of her lips grow into a smile. She hesitated on replying, not sure what to say right away. When she finally started typing back, she felt the seat beside her dip. “Yes, Morgan?” She asked, peering up at him. He shrugged his shoulders, handing her a cup of what smelled like black coffee. She set her phone down, taking it thankfully. “Just checking on you. You’re quiet.”

She took a sip of the coffee. It wasn’t her usual vanilla and hazelnut, but it was caffeinated. She milled on his words a moment, “Well,” she started, “I’m just thinking about the case. Reid’s upset he can’t come with us. He feels kind of useless right now,” she admitted. “I also can’t help but notice that the victims look like me and JJ. That’s kind of, I dunno, problematic.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, leaning back against the seat. “JJ was thinking the same thing. It sometimes happens, though. Just keep your head in the game, ya know? We aren’t going to let this guy get near you or JJ, so you don’t need to worry too much about it.”

“I know,” she replied, taking another sip of her coffee. “Thanks, Morgan.”

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
I was just looking over the details of the case that Garcia sent me. Don’t tell Hotch. I think our UNSUB is a white male in his early to late 30’s, most likely someone who works and lives in the area. If he’s picking these girls from the coffee shop, he must be there often enough to collect his profile on them. They look so similar that they must be a surrogate for someone. By looking at their age, I would say a sister or lover, not his mother. I’ll let you know if I find anything else._

Kassidy found herself releasing a breath, chuckling to herself. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
I’ll share your findings with the class, thanks Spencer. You should probably watch some movies, though, instead of looking over the case. If Hotch finds out, you know he’ll be mad._

She sent the message before tacking on another.

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
I hope we catch this guy quickly. I kind of miss seeing you at the office, and it’s weird not having you here on the jet._

There was a long moment before he replied; Morgan and Rossi talking about something besides her, but she wasn’t paying attention. 

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
I miss seeing you too. See you on Monday._

She couldn’t help but notice that warm feeling start again, this time in her chest. She set her phone down, peering out the window once more. For being a professional profiler, she was never really good at distinguishing her feelings. She cared about her whole team, sure, but something about Spencer always made her feel all giddy inside. Was it a crush? Like those she would get on the boys in High School? Or when she was obsessed with an actor on her favorite show for a little while? 

No. She loved Spencer, sure, but not like that. He was her best friend. Just like Morgan and Penelope and Emily and JJ- she loved them all. 

There was blood _everywhere_. Kassidy’s breathing was labored; her eyes were flickering around in a panic to try and understand what was going on. Where was she?

She was on her hands and knees, the blood smearing on the concrete floor beneath her touch. She was gasping, eyes wide, a scream trying to escape her throat. But she couldn’t scream. Looking up, she saw where it was all coming from: a woman’s body was hanging from a tree, her head bashed in so severely there was nothing left but blood. It dripped onto the concrete, a sickening gurgle coming from where her face used to be. 

_’help… me…’_ her voice called. 

Kassidy tried to stand up, to reach for the pistol on her hip, but she slipped in the blood, smacking her head on the ground. She could feel it taking over her senses, her mouth opening to breathe but instead swallowing the blood as if it were water and she was drowning. She _was_ drowning. She was drowning! Why couldn’t she scream? She was going to die- to die here-

“Sunshine!” 

Kassidy sat up suddenly, eyes wide as she looked around in a panic. Her bangs were clinging to her forehead, smelling of sweat. Her lungs felt full to bursting as she heaved, her eyes finally settling on the one and only Derek Morgan, his hands on her shoulders. 

“Hey, hey, you’re okay. You’re safe, okay? We’re on the plane,” he said to her slowly, searching her eyes. She blinked a few times before nodding. He didn’t loosen his grip, instead, squeezing a little to prove that he was real and right in front of her. “You were having a nightmare,” he told her, “But it’s over now.”

Kassidy’s mouth felt dry. As if on queue, JJ appeared at her side, a bottle of water in her hand, “Here,” she said in her well-known motherly tone, “This’ll help.” 

Kassidy took it gratefully, leaning back against the seat as Morgan let her go. She felt the cold water wash down her throat and closed her eyes, grounding herself. 

After a few moments, she finally reopened her eyes, the whole team seeming to be staring at her. She felt her cheeks flush, “I’m okay,” she said more to herself than them, “You guys don’t need to be watching my every move.” She was so embarrassed. 

JJ sat down next to her, intertwining their fingers together. “It’s okay, Kass,” she said quietly, “We all get nightmares. It’s normal. You just scared us for a moment there. Do you wanna tell us what your dream was about?”

Kassidy shook her head, biting her lower lip, “No. Um, I just wanna pretend that this didn’t happen?”

“Not likely,” Rossi raised an eyebrow at her, “But we can put it off for now. Just know that you’re probably getting a pep-talk from everyone here at some point.”

She sighed, feeling her muscles release their tension as she relaxed back into her seat. “Fair enough.” She squeezed JJ’s hand, smiling at the older agent, “Thank you, though. I know you guys care.” JJ smiled back, “We do. You can talk to us any time, do you know that?”

“I know.”

“Alright guys, we land in about 20 minutes. Remember your assignments,” Hotch said, interrupting everyone’s thoughts. They all nodded and went back to their seats, buckling in before the landing. Kassidy took a deep breath and closed her eyes again, JJ’s hand still holding hers. Why did she have to have a nightmare in front of everyone? That was mortifying. 

JJ was the one holding the victim’s photos. She showed them to each employee, one at a time, asking if they recognized any of them. Kassidy studied their faces as JJ asked questions. She tried to hide her sleepiness, using her coffee to stifle a yawn as she watched the manager shake his head at every photo.

A barista, Kayla Winston, on the other hand, nodded at each image. She was able to name every girl. “Allison, Maddy, Alice, and Grace,” she said, her voice sounding hollow. She wiped a tear that was forming in her eye, “I knew something was wrong. First, it was Allison. She came by every single day, it seemed, always getting her usual soy latte. She was excited about getting a new job the last time we talked. Then she just suddenly stopped coming in. When Maddy also stopped coming in, I started to get worried that something had happened to them.”

Kassidy took her hand in hers, showing sympathy, “You care about your customers. We can tell,” she assured her. Kayla nodded, sniffling a little. “I told my manager that I was worried, but she told me that it happens sometimes. Customers just stop coming.”

JJ’s voice was calm, motherly, “Kayla, did you happen to notice anyone watching them? Like, a man sitting in the corner, usually by himself, who seemed to be following them?”

Kayla shook her head, “No, I don’t usually watch the cafe’. I just talk to my regulars while they’re here, then they leave, and I move on to the next customer. Gosh, I wish I was more helpful.”

“No, no,” Kassidy smiled softly, “You’ve been very helpful.” She handed her a card, “This has my number on it. If you think of anything else, you can always call me. We already talked to your boss about seeing your security footage, so know that we might also reach out to you if we have any questions about your customers.”

Kayla nodded, pulling away and wiping her eyes, “I um, need to go back to work,” she tucked the card into her pocket. 

“Thank you for your time,” Kassidy smiled. She turned away from the counter, again trying to hide another yawn as it threatened to escape her. She shook her head, taking a sip of her coffee. Come on, beautiful sugary, caffeinated liquid, why wouldn’t it’s magic start working?

The two agents stepped onto the street; the evening traffic already slow as the sun was setting over the horizon. JJ sighed, pulling out her phone, “Maybe Pen will be able to see if there’s anyone here every day, most likely hiding in a corner.”

“If he’s in the view of the camera,” Kassidy added, shifting her weight, “There are a few corners that the cameras don’t see. They’re more trained on the cash register and front door.”

JJ pursed her lips in thought as she put her phone to her ear. 

_”Hotchner.”_

“Hey Hotch, we’re done here. Do you want us to meet you back at the station, or would you like us to just head to the hotel?” JJ asked. Kassidy felt herself tilting her head a little at JJ’s question. Was her exhaustion that evident? She supposed she wasn’t trying hard enough to hide it. 

She couldn’t hear his response, her eyes instead scanning their surroundings. This side of the little city was pretty, the mountains in the distance still having some snow on top even though it was June. The trees swayed a little in the evening breeze, bringing with them the scent of lilac mixed with the coffee. She found herself smiling, sipping at her latte again. 

A few people walked by, going to and from the surrounding shops. A man walked out of the little coffee shop, stopping a moment to stare at Kassidy. She felt his eyes on her and glanced at him, sparing a smile to the stranger. He looked her up and down before turning and walking away. That, she noted, made her nervous. She was used to being stared at, both because she was being objectified as a woman and an agent. People usually didn’t know how to react when they were in the presence of the FBI. 

But she wasn’t wearing her FBI vest, just her blue blouse and slacks. He was probably checking her out; she convinced herself. Because if that wasn’t it, then what was it? His eyes made her anxious, and she wasn’t sure why. There was something predatory about them. 

She blinked in realization, quickly turning to see where he went. He stepped into a car parked on the curb. The license plate was 65A34. She looked at JJ, “Jaje,” she said with urgency in her voice. JJ followed her lead and looked at the car, nodding once she understood. 

“Hey Hotch, hold on. We might have eyes on a suspect. License is 65A34- get Garcia to run it, please.”

Kassidy found her feet moving before she could even think about her next move. She approached the car, walking around to the driver’s side as the man rolled his window down. “Yes?” he asked tentatively. 

“Sir,” she started, pulling out her wallet and flashing her badge, “I just have a few questions-”

The car suddenly went into reverse, almost slamming into the truck parked behind it. He turned and tried to run Kassidy over; however, she managed to jump back onto the sidewalk in time to watch him speed off down the sleepy street. 

“Suspect on the run!” JJ shouted into her phone, jumping into the SUV, “racing down main and turning left onto 7th- Kass, get in the car!”

Kassidy shook out her nerves and did as she was told, climbing into the passenger seat and barely being able to buckle herself in before JJ was chasing after their suspect. She put the phone on speaker, “Hotch, something’s off about this guy,” she said, placing the phone into Kassidy’s hand and putting both her own on the wheel, stepping on the gas. 

_”We’re on our way,”_ he replied, _”Keep us posted on his whereabouts. What about him makes you suspect him?”_

“I’m not sure,” Kassidy started, “He came out of the shop after us, and he was staring at me, Hotch. I could just feel something was wrong. Then I showed him my badge, and he almost ran me over-”

“Sounds like probable cause for an arrest to me,” JJ snarked, turning the car suddenly as she followed him. He was driving recklessly.

“Watch it, Jaje,” Kassidy hissed as she gripped the handle above the door, “We don’t need to cause any accidents!”

JJ didn’t respond, only focusing on her driving. 

_”What street are you on now?”_

“Um, Willson,” Kassidy replied, reading the sign they passed. “He seems to be heading out of town.”

_”We’re almost there. Let us know if he starts heading in a different direction.”_

“Yes, sir.”

Just then, the suspect slammed on the brakes, JJ jerking the steering wheel to the left to keep from slamming into him.

“JJ!-”

There was a loud crash, followed by an intense ringing in the air. Then there was silence. 

Kassidy’s body felt like it weighed heavier than rocks. Or, at least that’s all she could compare it to at the moment. She managed to open her eyes, her vision blurry and red. She groaned as sound started to come back to her.

_”Hughes!”_

A small voice was calling to her. She managed to feel around, finding JJ’s cell phone. 

“Hotch,” she groaned, her head pounding. She could taste blood on her tongue. 

_”Oh, thank God,”_ he mumbled, _”Are you okay? What’s going on? We’re almost to you- hang in there.”_

Kassidy’s mind raced as she tried to remember what had happened. What _was_ going on? She pulled her hand to her face and wiped at her eyes, her vision clearing a little. JJ wasn’t in the SUV, the door hanging open. She must have climbed out. 

Right, they crashed. 

The airbag had been deployed, which is probably why her head hurt so much. She wiped the blood from her nose. Hopefully, it wasn’t broken. She couldn’t tell right now. 

Hotch was still talking to her, but her hearing was going in and out. Somewhere she could hear sirens, although they sounded so far away. She mumbled into the phone, something along the line of, “I need to get out of the car.” She wasn’t sure if she actually said it or not. 

There was some smoke coming from the front of the vehicle. They seemed to have hit a pole head-on. The windshield was broken, but at least it seemed she was relatively alright. Besides the feeling of being disoriented. 

Kassidy pushed on her door, the metal creaking and scraping as she forced it open. “JJ?” She called, coughing as blood seeped down her throat. She stepped out onto the grass. The smell of gasoline was powerful, hitting her senses and making her gag. She almost dropped the phone. 

“JJ?” She called again, looking around, “Jen, where did you-”

Hands came from behind her, clasping over her mouth and around her neck. Kassidy’s eyes widened as she dropped the phone, her hands flying up to try and pry her attacker away. She used her nails, digging into the back of his hand as much as she could. Even in a panic, she knew that drawing blood might make him drop her. Instead, she felt his grip loosen for just a moment before something cold smacked her in the side of the head. Everything went dark and silent once more. 

“Hu… Kas-”

She could faintly make out someone’s voice. Was someone talking to her?

“Hughes!”

Her eyes fluttered open, blurry as her vision was, to an odd scene. She was laying down, and there were two men hovering over her. A bright light was shown into her eyes, making her wince. Everything was moving around her. 

“Hughs,” the voice said again, more familiar now, “Come on Agent, keep your eyes open.” She tried, but it hurt to do so. 

“Hotch..?” Her voice sounded so far away, like it wasn’t her own. 

“I’m here,” he assured her. She felt his hand holding hers, squeezing it. A small smile formed on her lips, “What’s going on?” Her words slurred a little. It hurt to talk. 

“We’re in an ambulance,” He said slowly, “You were in a crash. We’re going to get you checked out, okay?”

“Where’s JJ-” Her eyes shot open at the memory of someone attacking her. She hadn’t seen JJ. She tried to sit up, but hands held her down- the sound of beeping starting ringing in her ears, “Hotch where’s Jen- she wasn’t there! Did he get her?” 

“Hughes, calm down. Let the medic do his job-”

“But JJ-” she choked out a sob, tasting a mix of her salty tears and blood in her mouth. Hotch squeezed her hand again, putting his phone to his ear and not taking his eyes off her. He started saying something but she couldn’t hear. The world was going dark again. 

Waking up in a hospital wasn’t on Kassidy’s to-do list for the summer. 

But here she was, and she was confused. She winced at the bright overhead lights, putting her hand in front of her eyes to shield them. How did she get here again?

“Hey, you’re awake.”

Kassidy felt his presence before she saw him, managing a small smile at her boss. Hotch was beside her, taking her hand into his, like on the ambulance. 

“What happened?” She asked. 

“What do you remember?” He replied with a question, his eyes searching hers. She blinked slowly, her eyes settling on staring at the ceiling as she tried to recall the events leading up to this moment. 

“Um… a suspect,” she started, “a white man, maybe in his early 30’s. He left the coffee shop and was watching me. My instinct told me he wasn’t just checking me out.” She let out a breath, her head starting to hurt a little. She waited a heartbeat before continuing, “He tried to run me over when I showed him my badge. JJ and I followed him. He slammed his brakes,” she furrowed her brow. “JJ turned to avoid hitting him, so we hit the pole.” She paused, her eyes meeting Hotchner’s. “The bastard did that on purpose.”

Hotch didn’t say anything, instead urging her silently with his eyes to continue. 

“I left the SUV, looking for JJ. I didn’t see her. Someone grabbed me and then… nothing.”

Hotch pulled the chair closer before sitting down. He sighed and laced his fingers with hers, the feeling of something warm and human making her feel safe. That must have been the point. “Kassidy,” he started. He never used her first name. She suddenly felt a chill go down her spine. She knew what he was about to say. 

“JJ was taken by the UNSUB.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! Let me know if you have any suggestions or theories <3


	5. Part Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where Kassidy pushes herself a little too hard while healing from a fresh concussion, and they try to save JJ.
> 
>   
> 

“Hey, you’re up and walking,” Rossi took Kassidy into his arms, kissing each of her cheeks before letting her go. She gave him a faint smile and a nod, stepping around him and into the little makeshift conference room. Morgan was to her next, pulling her into a much tighter hug, resting his chin on the top of her head. She found herself clutching at his shirt, trying _so hard_ to not cry. “I’m glad you’re okay, Sunshine,” he whispered, planting a kiss at the crown of her hair. She nodded, “Me too.”

“Just a concussion and some bruised ribs,” Hotch repeated to the team as he walked in behind her. “When we get home she’s getting a couple of days off, but we need all hands on deck right now.”

Morgan let Kassidy go, guiding her to sit down at the table. They had photos and files spread all over the place, boxes with more on the floor. 

Garcia’s face appeared on the large screen before them, Reid’s behind her. His eyes surveyed the room quickly before landing on Kassidy, a silent sigh of relief crossing his expression before he was interrupted by Penelope’s monologue. 

“The vehicle you chased was registered to a Mr. Chaz Garcia- no relation. He’s 37 years old and works as a truck driver for local construction sites. He’s independently contracted and has been fired from almost every job in the past three years. Mostly due to drinking on the job. But get this, the drinking started when his daughter, Olivia Garcia, was killed in a car crash almost exactly three years ago-”

“Three years and a month,” Spencer butted in. Garcia gave him a pointed look before continuing, “She died on impact. Hit an oncoming semi-truck on the highway when returning home from visiting friends in Bozeman.”

“What about the wife?” Rossi asked, leaning on his hands against the table. 

“Ummm…” There was some typing, Reid reading quickly over Garcia’s shoulder.

“Oh, looks like his wife left him about a month ago. They’re still finalizing the divorce,” He replied. Once again, Garcia narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m the techy, Reid. Let me do my job.” He stood up and backed away, hands up in surrender. 

“There’s your stressor,” Kassidy interjected. “Can you show us a picture of Olivia?” 

They all already knew what she looked like, but seeing her photo pop up on the screen, alongside the current missing victims, just slid the missing piece into place. 

Hotch stood up, turning towards the team, “Alright, I think we’re ready to give the profile.”

Kassidy was barely paying any attention as her team told the officers what to look for. She kept fiddling with her phone in her hands, her eyes on the ticking clock across the room. If the UNSUB wasn’t killing his victims, what was he doing to them? Hopefully not assaulting them. He was trying to replace his daughter, afterall. Maybe he was being nice to them all, which included JJ now. 

Probably not. But Kassidy hoped. 

She felt her phone buzz, almost dropping it. This earned her a sideways glance from Morgan. She chose to ignore him, glancing down at the screen. 

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
How are you feeling?_

She peeked up at her team, making sure nobody was paying any attention to her. They all seemed to be presenting the profile, no eyes, besides Morgans, trained in her direction. Good. She quickly typed back a reply. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
I’ve felt better. If this is what a concussion feels like then I don’t envy you. My ribs hurt when I breathe too hard too, but otherwise, I’m fine._

There was a pause before he replied, quicker than anyone else she ever texted. 

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
I meant about JJ._

Oh. She bit her lip, feeling Morgan’s eyes on her once more. If he wanted to reprimand her for texting while presenting, he would do it later. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
Honestly? Guilty._

“...Thank you for your time.” Hotch ended the presentation, turning to the team. Kassidy slid her phone into her pocket, hoping he hadn’t seen. He motioned them back into their little room. 

Taking her seat closest to the doorway, feeling like she couldn’t breathe, Kassidy watched everyone settle. She hated that they weren’t out there looking for JJ, but she knew they couldn’t, not right now. They didn’t know where to look. 

Emily and Morgan had already broken down Chaz’s front door, but he hadn’t been at that address for months it seemed. They already called his ex-wife and asked her if there was anywhere he liked to go to be alone, but that was a bust as well. 

She felt so useless. 

The screen opened up to Garcia and Reid’s faces, the two of them almost talking at once, voices urgent. 

“We might have found-”  
“Hotch we got an address-”

“Reid, Garcia,” Hotch’s voice was stern, like a scolding parent. They both closed their mouths, before Penelope cleared her throat, “Sorry, sir. But, sir, we think we found something.” 

“Spit it out you two,” Rossi held out his hands, “We don’t have all day.”

“Right. So, we searched for places that Chaz might have found sentimental that he would want to return to- which was wonder boy’s idea, actually. Quite brilliant- And found that the house the whole family used to live in together is still on the market. He was in charge of selling it and still hasn’t.” 

Kassidy was already grabbing her bag, pulling out her pistol and placing it on her hip.

“Address, Garcia,” Hotch ordered, doing the same. 

“Right! Sending it to you now. Be careful my crime fighters- bring JJ back.” 

If Morgan’s driving had scared Kassidy before, it was _sooo_ much worse when one of the team was in danger. She sat in the passenger seat, hand gripping the handle of the door so tightly her knuckles were white. She couldn’t help but wonder if Reid’s driving was ever this erratic. Probably. This wasn’t the first time the team had been in danger, she knew. She was the newest member; everyone else had been a part of the team for a few years now. They had history she only read in reports. 

Every sharp turn flashed images of the recent crash through her mind. Her head was pounding.

No, Kass, focus, she chastised. She would not allow herself to make this about her- this was about JJ. 

But, it didn’t stop the nausea that rolled through her core as she closed her eyes, images of the smoke spilling from the front of the SUV. The scent of burnt metal was still fresh in her senses. If she tried hard enough, she could taste the blood on her tongue. God, why did her head hurt so bad?

It wasn’t even that _bad_ of an accident; she knew that. She had heard the doctors: a mild concussion and some bruised ribs. She was fine. She was fine. She focused on something else, something positive. She was good at that, being the positive one. Her mind went back to Reid- how he looked relieved to see her when they spotted each other through the video call. She wondered if he was worried about her. 

The car jerked to a stop out front of the abandoned two-story home, a ‘for sale’ sign hanging in the yard. It would have seemed like a cute little family home; a tire swing rocking slightly in the breeze from the large oak, some stubborn flowers growing in what was once the garden- if it weren’t for the fact a total of 5 girls were being held captive there. One of them was JJ. 

Stepping out the vehicle, another one pulling up right behind them, Kassidy and Morgan pulled out their guns and did an almost-run towards the front door. She ducked down and peeked through the windows into the living room. After a moment of silence, she shook her head, “No movement,” she muttered. Her head was still throbbing, a smattering of black dots threatening her vision for a moment. She shook them away. 

Morgan nodded, looking back to Hotch and Emily who were right behind them. Some police vehicles arrived then, sirens off but lights flashing. 

Hotch gave the signal. 

Morgan kicked down the door, “FBI!” He shouted, aiming his gun forward as he hurried towards the kitchen. Kassidy took the hallway, letting muscle memory lead her. She walked towards two sets of stairs, Hotch on her heels. In a silent agreement, he went up as she went down. 

At the bottom of the stairs was a door. That familiar nervous feeling pricked at Kassidy’s heart, her hands clammy as she tightened her grip on her gun. She took a deep, evened breath. She wasn’t as good at kicking down doors as Derek, so she went with just turning the knob and pushing it open with force. 

“FBI!” She shouted, her gun immediately training on the man in the center of the room. He held a knife to JJ’s throat; the agent’s brow furrowed in anger. Her arms were tied behind her back at an odd angle, her shoulder sticking out a little more than what Kassidy would assume was “normal.” There were dried tear streaks down JJ’s dusty face; her hair was wild. She looked like hell. 

“Don’t come any closer!” The UNSUB practically screamed, his eyes wild, “I’ll- I’ll cut this bitch’s throat!”

“No, you won’t,” Kassidy replied calmly. Her eyes scanned his face. She had to fight to not press her fingers to her temple- her head’s pounding was getting worse. 

“You’re scared, Chaz,” she started, keeping her eyes locked on his. His breath hitched at his name. “You won’t hurt her, because you don’t want to lose Olivia again.” Somehow her voice sounded so calm and collected; the exact opposite of how she felt. It was foreign on her tongue. Everything started to sound far away, but only for a moment. She had to focus. 

“No-” Chaz choked on a sob, his grip on JJ tightening. She hissed in pain, wincing her eyes closed. Kassidy didn’t dare take her eyes off of Chaz’s. “You know that this is wrong, Chaz. You know that this won’t bring Olivia back. These girls aren’t your daughter-”

“LIAR!” His blade started to cut into JJ’s skin, the smallest line of red appearing beneath it. “Olivia is right here! I’m holding her! She’s okay, and Samantha will come back- We’ll be a family again!-” He stopped, blinking, as if a sudden realization crossed his mind. Kassidy’s grip on her gun tightened. She could feel Hotch’s presence behind her, reminding her that she wasn’t alone. “Chaz,” she started slowly, “Put the knife down. That isn’t Olivia. Her name is Jennifer, and she has a boyfriend and a child at home that she wants to go back to. You don’t want to take her away from her child, do you?”

Chaz’s hand slacked a little, his grip on JJ loosening. He glanced down at her as if seeing her for the first time. His lower lip started to tremble, eyes squeezing shut as tears flowed down his face, “Shut up!” He yelled, pointing the knife at Kassidy, “Let me think!” 

JJ took the opening to yank herself forward out of his grip; Kassidy took the shot. The gunshot that rang out was much louder than she expected. Her head wasn’t just hurting anymore, it was practically numb, just the ever-present sound of her own heartbeat throbbing through her ears. She felt her grip loosen as she watched Chaz Garcia sink to the floor. She didn’t take a kill shot, only hitting him in the shoulder. He needed to pay for what he had done. 

Fingers pressing into her temples, eyes squeezing shut, Kassidy gasped as the pounding became unbearable. She groaned, feeling her shoulder slam into the wall as the world tilted. 

“Hughs,” Hotch was at her side, his arm snaking around her waist to hold her up. The nausea from earlier was back tenfold. She held her hand over her mouth as she fought back the vomit that was threatening her. 

“We need a medic!”

That was Morgan's voice. She managed to open her eyes, seeing him hovering over JJ. JJ’s eyes met hers, “Kass,” she sobbed, her eyes glassy, “Thank you.”

Kassidy wanted to smile, maybe reply, “You’re welcome,” but she couldn’t. She felt her body go limp underneath her, her knees buckling, her head lulling to the side and landing on Hotch’s shoulder. The pounding wasn’t stopping. The intense need to vomit finally fought past her resistance, tasting of her morning coffee and acid. 

“Hughes!” 

Hands were on her, laying her tentatively onto her side. She coughed and sputtered, gasping for air. When she tried to open her eyes, black dots danced in her vision. It would just be easier to keep them closed. 

“Where is that MEDIC!?”

Her body felt like a ragdoll, limp against the strong arms that suddenly lifted her into the air. One arm tucked under her knees, the other wrapped around her back, as they shifted her in their grasp. Her head lulled against his chest. Hotch, she registered. She could smell his cologne. Wow, he was really strong. He lifted her like she weighed nothing. She probably _did_ weigh nothing. She wasn’t the only one who noticed how thin she was getting recently. 

After that things started to come in-and-out. Sounds would be too loud for a moment, then grow really far away. Maybe if she just let go and allowed herself to succumb to the exhaustion that was threatening to take her, she would feel better. Her head would, at the very least, not hurt anymore. 

Yeah, that sounded nice. For a moment she heard erratic beeping and bells; felt a hand gripping her own. But then the moment faded into blackness.

For the second day in a row, Kassidy Hughs awoke in the hospital. She blinked slowly as she took in the room. The lights were dimmed, but even then they felt too bright. She struggled to sit up, placing the back of her hand over her eyes. 

“Hey, hey, relax Sunshine.” 

She peeked out from under her hand at Derek who was leaning towards her. He flashed her his signature smile, “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” she replied dryly, stifling a cough. Her head throbbed at the movement, making her sink back down and groan. 

“Take it easy,” he directed, handing her a cup of water. She took it gratefully, closing her eyes and memorizing how it felt, how it tasted. Her throat was so dry. 

After she finished she smiled at him, “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Where’s JJ?”

Morgan smiled again, taking the empty glass from her and setting it on a nearby table. “She’s actually a room over, recovering. Her shoulder needed to be popped into place, but otherwise she was okay. Just some cuts and bruises.”

“And the girls?”

He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, “All safe,” he assured her. She let out a breath, a relieved smile growing on her lips. He reached out and took her hand, “They were upstairs, locked in Olivia’s old bedroom. A little dehydrated, but safe. JJ had convinced him that she was the girl he wanted, not them. She protected them.”

“Of course she did,” Kassidy let out a dry chuckle. She winced, her head starting to throb once more. 

There was a pause. “Chaz Garcia?”

“He’s on another floor. Your shot was good, Kass. He’ll be going away for a long time.”

She found herself smiling, closing her eyes again and swallowing when another beat of pain shot through her head. 

“Take it easy, baby girl,” Morgan instructed. “We shouldn’t have put you in the field like that. Your brain is still recovering from that concussion. Thankfully the doctors don’t think you made it worse, but Hotch has ordered a week’s leave when we get home.”

Kassidy groaned. The very first thought that crossed her mind was how unfair it was that the moment Reid would be going back to work, she would be the one stuck at home. It was like the universe didn’t want them seeing each other. Well, that was ridiculous. And logically she knew that, but it didn’t stop her from feeling that way. 

Morgan chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “Thinking about Pretty Boy?”

She felt her cheeks flush at Reid’s nickname, opening only one eye to glance at him. “No?”

“Yes, you are,” he teased, wagging a finger at her. She pouted out her lower lip, “Nu-uh. Besides, how would you know?”

He hummed, tapping his finger on the side of his head, “I’m a profiler, sweetness. You can’t hide _anything_ from me. You two really are smitten for one another, you know that?”

She felt the heat from her cheeks grow across her whole face and down her chest. Was that true? Was she, _smitten?_ That might be a good word for it. She wouldn’t deny that she felt at least something for Spencer. But, did he feel the same way?

Stop it, Kass. They were really good friends, nothing more.

She shook her head, hiding her embarrassment by clearing her throat and turning away from Morgan, “Whatever you say, Der. I’m gonna try to sleep some more, so feel free to stare at my back if you want.” She could hear him chuckle, though he made no movement to leave the uncomfortable chair he was in. She felt herself smile. She knew he wouldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I had to kind of re-write the fic a little and make the chapters shorter. Originally I was trying to get over 5,000 words a chapter, but it kind of made them feel like they weren't flowing very well. So, I decided to not keep a word count anymore and just focus on the feeling of the "episode." I hope that makes sense? LOL. 
> 
> Any questions, comments, concerns? Or even suggestions? I love writing about hurting my faves (especially Reid) so like, throw some ideas my way maybe? LOL.


	6. Part Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team returns home, and Kassidy gets some time off due to her concussion.
> 
>   
> 

It was about 2pm when Kassidy finally pulled out her keys, jiggling the lock on her front door. She had taken a cab straight from the tarmac, Hotch having called it in for her, and she wanted to do nothing more than sleep for the rest of the afternoon. The plane ride home was long, tiring, and painful. She had worn a sleep mask over her eyes, but every bump and sway of the craft still made her head throb. 

She couldn’t wait to lay in her dark room and make her persistent headache go away. 

Opening the door to her brightly colored living room, she cursed at herself for the first time for liking things, well, bright and colorful. Tossing her go-bag onto the couch, pushing her door closed behind her, she stalked to her bedroom. Thankfully the curtains were still closed. That made it so much easier to kick off her shoes and climb under the covers, pulling a pillow over her head as she willed sleep to take over. 

It felt like only a minute had passed before she felt the buzzing of her phone in her pocket. Groaning, pulling the pillow off her head, she dug into her pants pocket to find the offending machine. How dare it wake her up after only a moment- oh. The time was staring at her in white lettering. 9:08pm. She had slept for about 7 hours. 

Sighing, she looked to see why it was buzzing in the first place. 

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
I’m filing your paperwork for you. Hotch gave me your statement, so I’m using that to write your version of events. I hope you heal faster than I. The headache was the worst part._

She rolled onto her back, smiling at the message. Taking a moment to take a mental inventory, she realized her head wasn’t hurting at the moment. She was starving, but that was about it. The idea of food wasn’t very tempting, but she knew she needed to eat something. 

As if on cue, another message came through. 

_Message from: Aaron Hotchner  
I ordered you some ramen from that Japanese place you like. It should be there in 20 minutes. I instructed them to leave it outside your door, so you can get it when you’re up. And yes, I tipped them well._

She found her smiling growing, thumbs swiping over the keyboard to type a hasty reply. 

_Message to: Aaron Hotchner  
Thank you, Hotch. You know me so well._

After a beat he replied:

_Message from: Aaron Hotchner  
You’re welcome, Hughes. Get some rest._

She paused, opening her phone back to Reid’s message. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
Thanks Reid. I appreciate all you do for me. And I’m okay right now. Talk tomorrow?_

She dropped her phone on her chest, staring up at the tapestry that hung on her ceiling. It was purple with yellow stars and planets on it. It reminded her of the Disney movie _Tangled_ when she bought it, and she smiled at the memory. Emily was with her at the mall, the two laughing after their score on some cute shoes. She spotted the tapestry in one of those smoke shops and insisted on buying it, dragging Emily inside with her. The man behind the counter tried to offer them some weed, which made them both hold out their badges. His face was priceless. They had burst into laughter once they got back in the car, barely able to breathe. 

She giggled to herself, closing her eyes. Moving to D.C. 8 months ago was the biggest decision of her life, but it was also the best. She remembered how her mom had begged her to stay in Las Vegas, to stay home, but she finally broke away. She didn’t want to build a future there. Her whole life was not going to start and end in the desert, she decided. She wanted to explore the world and save lives. 

So when she was offered the position as a profiler for the BAU, she jumped at the chance. Chasing gang activity in Las Vegas was nothing compared to stopping serial killers, but she’d like to think it helped prepare her. She remembered how cold Hotch was towards her in her first month. He was nothing like the man she knew now, soft and compassionate. He was like a father in a way. Always worried about her.

Emily, Penelope, and JJ had taken to her early on. The three taking her out for drinks more than once, getting to know each other. Penelope was the closest thing to a best friend that Kassidy ever had. 

She opened her eyes and peered at her phone, checking the time. It would be another 10 minutes before her food arrived. 

Morgan and Rossi had both accepted her with open arms. Rossi was the first to call her ‘Sunshine,’ mentioning how she always had something yellow on her. “It’s to remind myself that the world isn’t always so dark,” she had replied. He mulled over her words before smiling, “That’s a good way to remind yourself. Maybe it’ll help remind me too.”

Morgan helped her unpack her apartment, offering to paint her living room for her. The two spent an entire weekend turning the place into a home that she would feel safe in. When she asked him why, he shrugged and replied, “Cause your part of our family now.” 

Reid took the second-longest, next to Hotch, to open up to her. She originally thought it was due to her age, but he was young too. Only a couple of years older than her, in fact. During her second week, he caught sight of the book she was reading. “ _Romeo and Juliet?_ ” She nodded, “Yeah, I read it in high school, but I wanted to reread it. It’s one of those tragedies that you can’t help but wonder, ‘what if they did something different? Could it have ended better?’ Also, I’m going to see the play later this week and wanted a reminder of how it went.” He smiled and sat down at his desk, opening communication between them for the first time. 

A knock at her front door made her open her eyes, peering once more at her phone. Oh yay, her ramen was here!

Sitting on her couch, her second day's worth of take-out on the coffee table, she leaned her head back. It had been a full day since she was confined to house arrest, and she was starting to get cabin fever. She started to understand how Spencer was feeling. 

She opened her phone and stared at their message history. He never replied last night, probably because he was doing twice as much work as normal. Still, he most likely finished before the rest of the team. Being able to read 20,000 words, a minute was just one of his superpowers. 

She stared at the screen for a moment before typing out a message. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
Hey you, how’s being back at the office?_

She set her phone down, not wanting to seem like she was desperate for a reply or anything. Because she wasn’t. She turned the TV on, hoping to find something to distract her. 

As she flipped through the channels, her phone dinged. 

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
It’s better than being stuck at home. I understand what you mean about it being weird without someone here, though. I find myself missing you._

She felt her heart jump into her throat-

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
It’s just odd to see nobody at your desk, is all. I miss JJ too._

Oh. Heh. She felt a little silly, pulling her knees to her chest and getting comfortable on the couch. Of course, he missed her because she was his friend. Nothing more. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
Yeah that’s how I felt last week. At least in 6 days I’ll be back and we’ll probably have another case to solve._

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
5 days 21 hours and 18 minutes._

She smirked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Of course, he was counting down the seconds. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
Do you have any book recommendations? Or TV shows? I’m so bored._

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
Doctor Who is a good show to get started on if you haven’t already. I would recommend the old Star Trek series as well. I can bring some books later too if you’d like? I need to return yours anyhow._

She tapped her fingers on the back of her phone. It would be nice to see him, she knew. But she didn’t want to seem like that sick friend from school who needed her homework brought home to her. She bit the inside of her lip. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
You don’t need to do that. I can always pick up my books at the office if you bring them in. You can leave them by my desk. I’ll get started on Star Trek, though- that’s one I’ve meant to watch for a while. I keep getting distracted by True Crime shows._

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
You don’t have enough true crime in your daily life as it is?_

She giggled.

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
I like watching cold case shows. It’s cool to see how they finally solve a crime that was committed so many years ago. You should come over sometime and watch one with me._

The invite was innocent. She had been to Spencer’s apartment plenty of times in the past, either to watch a movie with the gang or go over some notes on past cases. This was just the first time she ever invited him to her place. 

He didn’t reply right away. Right, he was still at work. She turned her attention to the TV and finally found a channel she was interested in. A documentary about Elephants was on. She’d let it be background noise while she scrolled through her phone for a while. 

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
Maybe this weekend? Friday night? I can bring your books back too._

She typed quicker than her mind could form coherent thoughts.

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
It’s a date._

Aspirin wasn’t helping the headache that assaulted her in the middle of the night, rousing her from her sleep and forcing her to stumble her way to her bathroom. She reached around in the dark to find the toilet, sinking to the floor before leaning against the cool tile wall. She had been sitting here for a while now; maybe 30 minutes? If she turned on the light, it would only make her nausea worse. If she tried to go back to bed, it would make her headache amplify. She was stuck. 

Eyes closed, breathing slightly unsteady, Kassidy thought through her options. This concussion was manageable if she took her pain medication like clockwork, but she must have missed the dose before bed. She honestly couldn’t remember when she went to bed. At some point, she was on the couch, texting her friends, and then she woke up in bed wanting to vomit. 

She mentally kicked herself for not grabbing her phone. At least she could check the time if she had it. She would have to guess, instead. There wasn’t a window to the bathroom, but glancing out the door and down the hall, she could see the yellow streetlights on the street. It still seemed fairly dark beyond them. Maybe it was around 3am? 4am? 

She closed her eyes again and rested her head back on the wall. The floor was cold under her bare legs and feet. It felt nice. 

So, she could try to sleep on the bathroom floor all night- as uncomfortable and disgusting as that may be- or she could bring a trash can with her to the bedroom. Both options required her to maneuver her body, which she did not want to do. Her head was pounding so hard that she wasn’t sure she could hear anything besides the blood rushing through her ears. She groaned. 

This sucked. 

Did Spencer have any nights like this? She cracked her eyes open at the thought, vision adjusting to the darkness. She make out the could outline the sink and shower. Did Spencer lay on his bathroom floor, racked with nausea and dizziness from the intensity his head throbbed? She hoped not. This was torture. 

Shifting a little, resting her arms on her knees, she closed her eyes again. Maybe she would fall asleep like this. Her back would be killing her in the morning, but it would be worth trying to keep the shooting pain that stabbed her temples at bay. 

In her self-pity, she almost missed the sound of something being rustled in the living room. Almost. 

Shooting her eyes open, she froze. Goddammit- her gun was in there. She always put it away in a little locked box by the front door. 

Wait, was someone actually there, though? She could have been hearing things. Straining her ears, she leaned a bit forwards, gripping the side of the tub for balance. She needed to assess her situation. If there was someone in her apartment, she was in no position to defend herself. She could barely stand without her knees shaking beneath her, her stomach rolling with the threat of expelling itself. Okay, okay, deep breaths. She inhaled as slowly and quietly as she could, then exhaled. With one hand along the wall, she stepped forwards, peeking out of the bathroom. 

The apartment was quiet and dark. Her eyes had adjusted already, able to make out the shapes of her furniture. She could see her kitchen beyond the living room, the light from the street beaming through the window above the sink. Her eyes flickered around, straining to see something, anything, that could pose a threat. If someone was here, she reasoned, they were as blind as she. But she knew the layout of her home, so she had that advantage. 

Stepping carefully, quietly, she approached her couch. She could see her phone on the coffee table. Okay, if she grabbed that, then she could at least call for help if she needed to. 

Was she paranoid? Well, better than dead, she supposed. 

She gave one last glance around the dark before picking up her phone. Lifting it woke up the screen, little white numbers reading: 5:23am. She flipped it around and used the light to illuminate the room. 

Nothing. 

With a heavy sigh, she collapsed on her couch. Her nightmares were trying to get her even when she was awake, it seemed. Rolling onto her side, facing the room, she curled up into a ball. Her head was still pounding, yet the sensation had faded a little when she thought she was in danger. Her stomach was still acting up. Well, if she threw up on the floor, then she would have to clean it up later. She had had enough moving around tonight. 

It was time to try and let her exhaustion take over. 

_Message from: Derek Morgan  
Hey Sunshine, I just wanted to check on you. How are you feeling?_

Kassidy was sitting up, rubbing her eyes with one hand and holding her phone in the other. She yawned, stretching her arms above her head. Her back cracked. Oof. Don’t sleep on the couch anymore, she noted. 

It was about 10am, the sunlight illuminating her whole apartment. Her head no longer hurt, thank goodness, and she was feeling rather hungry. After taking a moment to reply to Morgan, telling him she was fine, she stood and meandered her way to the kitchen. Her foot made contact with a photo frame, causing her to pause. She bent down and picked it up, checking for damage. 

It was a photo of the team at the first get-together she was apart of. She insisted on setting up a timer on her camera so Rossi could be in the picture too. They were at his house- basically a mansion- in the kitchen. Everyone was smiling, their cheeks rosy from wine and laughter. 

She found herself smiling at the memory, hanging the photo back onto the wall. That must have been the thing that scared her last night. How dumb. 

Humming, she opened her fridge and started gathering supplies for breakfast. That’s when she noticed something glinting in the sunshine by the sink. Peering over, she saw it was a wine glass, set right on edge. That was odd. She didn’t remember drinking last night and definitely recalled having put her dishes away. She picked it up and checked it over-; maybe she left it out to dry? 

There was the smallest ring of dried wine at the bottom of the glass. 

That feeling of nervousness she had felt in Montana was back. It grabbed hold of her heart, squeezing it. She wasn’t sure what was happening or what was warranting her fear, but she had to tell someone. 

Her hands started shaking as she pulled out her phone. She had another message from Morgan- he could wait. She dialed the only number she could think of. 

_”This is Agent Hotchner.”_

“Hotch,” she heard her voice crack and waver. 

_”Hughes? Is everything alright?”_

Kassidy took a shaky breath, eyes flickering around her apartment on high alert, looking for danger. 

“I think someone was in my apartment last night.”


	7. Part Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kassidy returns to work, and the team takes on a new case.  
> But she can't seem to get that New York case out of her mind.
> 
>   
> 

Aaron Hotchner searched her apartment, checking all the typical places for a planted bug or for signs of a break-in. Kassidy stayed seated on her couch, wearing her too-big sleeping tee-shirt and some gray sweatpants that she threw on right before he came over. She clutched her phone to her chest, watching her superior investigate her home. 

After about 20 minutes he stopped in front of her, his hands on his hips. He was wearing his usual suit and tie. His brows knitted together ever-so-slightly, the wrinkles between them showing concern. 

“You’re sure someone was here last night? I can’t find any signs of a break-in.”

She bit her lip, nodding slowly, “Well, I mean, I think so? I was in the bathroom, feeling kinda sick from a headache, and I heard what sounded like maybe footsteps? Or rustling? Just for a second. I remember looking at the kitchen and seeing the sink empty. This morning I found that photo,” she pointed to it, “on the floor. And the wine glass by the sink. It definitely wasn’t there last night, Hotch, I swear.”

He sighed, running his hand through his hair as he thought. “Do you know anyone who would want to try to hurt you, Hughes?”

She made a face at him, “Just about everyone who wants to hurt you, boss.” 

“Right.” He paused, looking around the room once more. “Well, nothing was taken, and if someone got in they used a key. Nothing seems to have been left either.” He pursed his lips, then pulled out his phone, shooting a quick text. “I’ll have someone change your locks later today. How many keys do you need?”

She felt the tension in her shoulders lesson, her body relaxing with a sigh. She smiled at him, “Um, three. One for me, one extra, and one for you?”

He rose an eyebrow but didn’t comment, instead, continuing his text. “Alright Hughs, let me know if anything else seems out of place. I wish there was more I could do, but we don’t know if anyone was actually here-”

“I know,” she groaned, glancing at her own phone. Maybe she was just paranoid. Her head did hurt so bad that it made things hard to remember. Maybe she did have a glass of wine last night? That would account for her not remember going to bed.

He put his phone away, giving her a soft smile. “Hang in there. You’ll be back in the office soon. I’ll let you know if we get a case beforehand, okay? Try not to get too comfortable with being stuck at home.” 

She scoffed, “I’d rather live in the office than be stuck here.” His smile grew a little bit as he turned to leave, “Text me if you need anything.” 

“You know I will.”

_Message from: Emily Prentiss  
I heard someone was in your apartment last night! Are you okay?_

_Message from: JJ  
Hey, you want me to stay with you tonight? I heard about the break-in._

_Message from: Derek Morgan  
Sunshine, do you need a sexy bodyguard tonight? Just let me know. I’ll protect you._

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
Are you alright?_

Out of all the texts Kassidy received over the course of the day, she only found the energy to reply to Spencer. 

_Message to: Spencer Reid  
Yeah, I’ll be okay. I think I’m just being paranoid, ya know?_

The locksmith had left about an hour ago, leaving her with three new keys. It made her feel a little safer, thinking that _if_ someone had come in using a copy of her key, they couldn’t try it again. She herself had checked over the apartment, making sure no cameras or bugs were planted anywhere. 

Eventually satisfied that she was definitely safe and definitely being paranoid- dumb girl- she collapsed on her bed and snuggled back against the pillows. Reid had stopped by earlier, bringing her books back like he promised, as well as dropping off some new ones. He couldn’t stay to watch TV as they had agreed upon, but that was okay. He was kind of finicky, unable to sit still the whole time he was in her place. He kept looking at the photos on her “family and friends” wall. She had photos of everyone she loved up there, which included the team. 

He must have paperwork to do or something. 

That reminded her of the files she had on her desk in the living room. She had asked Anderson to drop off some paperwork for her (against his and Hotch’s wishes). She debated on looking them over again, wanting to cross-reference some things about that New York case. She still couldn’t stop wondering why Jared Johnson was stealing money from his parents. She wondered why Heather was killed. 

Instead, she reached over and grabbed the books of poems she and Spencer once talked about. It would do her brain good to stop looking at brutal crime scenes, she figured. 

_The Bride of Corinth,_ was the one she was looking for. The book seemed old and worn, smelling like those long forgotten at the back of a library. She smiled as she opened it, tracing her fingers over the paper. It was yellowed in age, some scribbles in pencil along the margins. She didn’t recognize the handwriting. It must have been a hand-me-down tale to Spencer, or at least thrifted. 

The story was a sad one, of an undead girl coming to find her love, only to be banished by her mother once she’s found. It didn’t take too long to read, considering it was a poem. Kassidy read through the entire book, devouring the poems of love and tragedy that was written within. They all held that similar plot: a girl or boy dies- leaving behind their true love- and when trying to reunite with them, something stops them. 

Eventually, she put the book down, realizing it was about 9pm. That ever-present ache was starting at the base of her neck, slowly moving into her head again. This time she took some aspirin in time, drinking a glass of water alongside it. She didn’t want to end up on the bathroom floor again. Or the couch. 

Waking up with sweat dripping down the sides of her face, hair sticking to the back of her neck, eyes wide and darting around her room searching for danger- was happening way too often. 

Kassidy collapsed back down on her bed; her heart pounding dramatically in her chest. She placed a hand over it, willing it to calm down. This was the 6th night in a row where she dreamt of the shadow figure being in her room, the gun pointed to her head. It almost seemed worse now that she feared someone was walking around her home while she was sick. It scared her. Why was she having this dream so much? Was it stress from work? She did have that ‘drowning in blood’ dream one other time besides the plane too, but that was most likely due to the New York case. This dream didn't make sense.

She closed her eyes with a sigh, hand still resting over her chest. Her heart was starting to calm down, if only a little. 

She laid like that for a while, wishing sleep would come to her again. When it didn’t, she reluctantly checked the time. 4:32am. Well, she was going to have to get up in a couple of hours anyway to go back to work- thank God. It was Monday, and her week leave was officially over. She might as well get up now, she thought. 

Padding silently to her living room, switching on the lamp at her desk, she poured over the New York case files once more. 

It was so unlike the team to leave anything unfinished. Not finding Heather’s killer was doing just that. But Captain Dollaway had insisted that the team was done: they found the murderer they were looking for. She promised to let the BAU know if they discovered anything about Heather Chambers, but it had already been a couple of weeks. No news. 

Kassidy flipped through the financial reports of all the victims again, studying Heather and Jared’s closely. She couldn’t see it yet, but she _knew_ that something was there. It had to be staring her in the face, mocking her, but she just couldn’t figure out what it was. She had already bounced some ideas around in her notebook. 

Why would someone steal money? Drugs? No, he didn’t have any drugs in his system or apartment. Neither did Heather. Alcohol? Also no. Debt? She hummed as she noted all of his bills were always paid on time. He lived in a decent-sized apartment, right in his price range. He didn’t own a car, instead using the subway. There weren’t any large purchases that she could see. 

And Heather’s was the same. Bills paid on time, no alcohol, no debt. 

The other bouncers had normal accounts too, it seemed. Although she never saw anything about them stealing money, so she didn’t think they were connected. It was good to check though-

Wait. 

On the first of every month, Jared and Heather would withdraw exactly $500.00 apiece. It was easily missed because that’s when other bills would be paid, but everything else was paid electronically. This was a withdrawal from the bank itself. Nowhere in their statements for the past year showed them taking any amount of money from their accounts manually like that- except on the first.

Okay, so she was getting somewhere. She didn’t know where, but it was something. 

Scribbling down this new information in her notebook, she glanced at the time again. 6:00am. How had an hour and a half gone by already?

Dragging herself from her desk she closed the file. She needed to shower and eat something before her first shift back. The New York case would have to wait until later. 

“Oh hey Sunshine, look at you! All bright and colorful for your first day back!” 

Kassidy looked up and smiled at Morgan as he pulled her into a hug. She wanted to hug him back, but her hands were full of books- a coffee balanced on top. “Whoa, Der, careful. Don’t make me spill my latte.”

She was wearing a bright yellow button-up blouse that had thin white stripes running vertically down it, a matching yellow bow in her ponytail. Her black slacks were a little large on her, covering the tops of her feet, but she didn’t seem to notice or mind. Her yellow slip-on’s were making their well-known appearance from underneath. 

Morgan stepped away, taking the coffee off the top of her books and setting it on her desk for her, “I wouldn’t dream of spilling your coffee, Sunshine. You’re a nightmare without it.”

“Hey- Well. I guess that’s true.” She shot him a teasing smirk as she set the books down on Spencer’s desk; which was missing its patron. 

“Jesus, did Pretty Boy give you a whole library to read while you were gone?” Morgan picked up the books and glanced at the covers. He clearly did not recognize any of the titles. Kassidy rolled her eyes as she took her latte and pressed it against her lips, inhaling that delicious scent of vanilla and hazelnut (it _was_ her favorite after all). 

“No, those are the books I asked to borrow. And then some. I’m just bringing them back since I’m not on lockdown anymore.”

“And just in time,” Hotch spoke as he walked out of his office and across the catwalk. The two glanced up at him as he tapped on the file in his hand, “We have a case.”

“Oh goody. I’m back for 20 minutes and am immediately sucked into a case.” Kassidy smirked against her coffee, her tone sarcastic. Morgan put his arm around her shoulder and steered her towards the conference room, “Yeah, we told the serial killers to wait for you. We didn’t want you missing out on anything.” She found herself giggling a little as the two headed to the round table. 

Spencer, JJ, and Emily were already seated, some open containers of various breakfast foods on the table in front of them. The three looked up at them, smiling in greeting. Kassidy noticed Spencer’s smile was the brightest. 

JJ perked up, “Welcome back, Kass! Oh, we ordered some food for everyone to have on the plane. I got you your usual.” 

Kassidy felt herself grin, picking up the foam container with her name on it, “OMG Jaje, you’re literally my favorite.”

Emily scoffed, pointing a fork at Kassidy that still had egg on it, “That’s not fair. I paid for it all.”

“Okay, you’re both my favorites.”

Morgan shook his head as he sat down beside Spencer, picking up his own container and taking a peek at what was inside. “Oooh ladies, you know what I love,” he swooned. “Smothering in hot sauce. I’m in heaven.”

“Alright Avengers,” Garcia interrupted, her heels clicking on the floor as she hurried into the room. Kassidy took that as a sign to sit down as well, placing her food in her bag. She shot Spencer a smile, waving her hand a little and mouthing ‘hello.’ He did the same, his hand immediately going to his unruly hair and trying to smooth it back afterward. 

Penelope frowned, pursing out her lips a little as she picked up her remote, “I am so sorry to ruin your appetites because this will ruin them. I suggest waiting to eat on the plane? Cause you won’t wanna eat while looking at this case.” 

Emily and JJ took her advice, closing their foam boxes and sliding them away from themselves. 

“Okay, so,” Penelope clicked the remote, an image of three women piled on top of each other, all face down, showed up on the screen behind her. They were all clearly stabbed multiple times. There was a lot of dried blood.

“These three women were found early this morning in Reno, Nevada. And I mean early, like 4am, early. The victims are Carmilla Sanchez, Megan Hickey, and one Jane Doe. The two whose identities we do have,” images of their driver’s license photos came up, “were both strippers at the same club. It’s assumed that our Jane Doe was also a stripper.”

“Why don’t we have the last one’s identity?” Rossi’s voice broke through, the older agent walking through the doorway. He stopped behind Kassidy and placed a hand on both of her shoulders, leaning down and setting a peck on the top of her head. “Welcome back,” he squeezed a little. She smiled up at him. 

“Well um,” Penelope motioned to the tablets on the table. “I need to look up so many pictures of baby panda’s after this.”

Kassidy felt her heart drop into her stomach. When Pen needed baby animals, it was usually pretty gruesome. 

And she was right. 

Images of the women’s faces, taken at the M.E.’s lab, showed that they were stabbed through the eyes and mouth. Jane Doe’s face was unrecognizable. 

Kassidy had to hold back the urge to gag. 

“He’s defacing them,” Spencer said as his eyes darted across his own screen, swiping back and forth through the images. “There’s a lot of rage here. Are there any signs of sexual assault?”

“Um,” Penelope glanced down at her own tablet before looking up and shaking her head, “Well, kind of. No rape, but he um, penetrated them. With the knife.”

“Ouch,” JJ muttered. She and Emily shared a glance. Kassidy swallowed. 

“So he’s probably impotent,” Morgan began, “That or he’s unable to get off by just having sex anymore. He needed to do something sexual to them to satisfy his needs.”

“Yeah, and sadistic,” Rossi added. 

Kassidy tapped her fingers along the top of her tablet, “What if it’s not sexually motivated? What if he penetrated them like that because of what they do? They’re strippers. That can be considered dirty or sinful, like prostitution.” 

“Not in Reno, honey,” Morgan pointed his pen at her. “That stuff’s everywhere in Nevada.”

“I’m aware,” Kassidy began, her brows furrowing, “I’m from Vegas, remember? Reno isn’t that much different.”

Spencer cleared his throat as he sat up a little straighter, “Well actually, Las Vegas is world-renowned, whereas Reno is considered more of a hidden gem along the northern border of Nevada and California. On a daily basis, travelers to Reno can expect to spend an average of $113 a day per person compared to an average of $225 per person for a trip to Las Vegas. Reno tends to be called the ‘Littest Big City’ due to its large amount of casinos and businesses all in one area, however, it doesn’t have the strip as Las Vegas does. Therefore, there are fewer strip clubs and prostitution in the Reno area.”

Morgan rolled his eyes but suppressed the need to say anything. Kassidy wrinkled her nose at him, “Ah yes, I forget you’re from Vegas too.” He shrugged a little, trying to hide a smile, “I’ve been to Reno a few times. It’s definitely similar, but not the same.”

Hotch stood up, taking his tablet with him, “Alright team, it’s a long flight from here to Nevada. Wheels up in 30.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to add to Kassidy's story <3


	8. Part Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team arrives in Reno and begins their investigation.  
> Kassidy is trying to figure out her feelings for Reid, but can't focus too much on that. They have a case to solve.
> 
>   
> 

“So,” Reid took his spot across from Kassidy, resting his chin against his fist, “I'm sorry I missed our um, _date_." He was blushing, clearing his throat, "I needed to catch up on some paperwork. And um..." He hesitated, peering out the window before looking back at her, "how have the nightmares been?” 

She glanced up at him from under her lashes, her fork halfway to her mouth. She was trying to eat before the jet took off to focus on the case once they were in the air. She knew her brain wouldn’t let her eat after looking at those photos again. After a beat of hesitation, she finally put the food in her mouth, chewing slowly. She let the silence build between them, wondering how to heck to respond to that. 

When he didn’t pull his eyes from her, instead choosing to wait for her to respond, she finally let out a sigh. Setting her fork down, she smiled, although she knew it didn't meet her eyes, “Spencer, it's fine. I expected as much- I tried to catch up too, actually. Had some stuff from the New York case I was looking at." She then hummed, poking at her food. She didn't want to answer the nightmare question, but when he continued to sit and stare at her, she let out a breath, "And they’re fine. They like to wine and dine me before getting to the spooky part, usually.” 

He didn’t smile. She kind of hoped he’d humor her at the very least. Instead, his eyes remained on her, chocolate brown with golden flecks in the sunshine. They held that look of concern she was getting so used to seeing. There was a mirrored look of sleeplessness in them too. He always had a faint color of purple under his eyes. He clearly wanted to talk about her demons, and she clearly did not. She recalled him telling her once that he too had nightmares in his first year in the FBI. It made her wonder if he still had them. 

“I um, still have them,” she finally acknowledged. Her eyes left his, deciding to focus on the tarmac outside. A man was walking along with the jet with an orange vest on. They would be taking off soon. So much for breakfast. 

She hoped Derek or Emily would sit beside her, save her from this conversation, but the jet started to move. Ah, they must have taken their seats somewhere else. Dangit. 

“Do you,” Spencer started, his voice quieter than normal, “want to talk about them?” 

She realized her fingers were tapping an unknown beat against her thighs-- a common sign of her anxiety. She tried to rein in it, hoping Spencer hadn’t noticed. It was her ‘loudest’ tell. “I uh, not really?” She also spoke quietly, her eyes flickering back to his. He was still watching her, studying her. His eyes wandered over her face, making her cheeks warm up rather quickly. She pulled her gaze away from him again. 

“I know you get nervous about the take-off,” he offered. She nodded, “Yeah.” Yes, yeah, that was definitely what she was nervous about. Not the fact that Doctor Spencer Reid was eyeing her up. Keep it together, Kassidy. Ever since Morgan commented about the two of them being _smitten_ with one another, she couldn’t quite look at him the same. Because what if it was true? Did Spencer have, like, a crush on her too? No, this wasn’t a crush anymore. In the beginning, it was a crush, and she was trying so hard not to acknowledge it. A schoolgirl crush on a colleague wasn’t exactly professional. This was something else. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. 

Her breathing had pitched a little. The jet was starting to speed up.

But they were just friends. Excellent friends. She loved that. She didn’t want to ruin it. 

He broke her thoughts by reaching forwards and taking her hand in his, his calloused thumb running along her wrist. She shot him a confused stare, blinking in surprise. Once again, the germaphobe known as Spencer was touching her. “We can talk about your nightmares later if you’d like. Right now, you should close your eyes and breathe. The jet is speeding up to about 156 miles an hour right now. We’ll be in the air in approximately 26 seconds, so until we straighten out, I want you to just focus on me, okay?”

She complied, closing her eyes and squeezing his hand. She tried to focus on her breathing, in through the nose and out the mouth. Deep breaths. This was such a stupid thing to be nervous about-- she knew that. Flying was fine. The landing was fine. Why was the take-out so upsetting to her?

She could hear Spencer speaking to her softly, having leaned forward in his seat, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. She needed to breathe. Just breathe. 

Eventually, she felt his grip loosen. She opened her eyes to see him right there, still watching her. They were in the air. He smiled, pulling his hand away, almost-too-quickly, “There. We’re on our way to Reno now.”

She found the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile, her cheeks still flushed from her earlier anxieties. “Thanks, Spencer. I don’t know why I’m like this, but um, thank you.” 

He smiled, his hand pushing some of his hair out of his face. He was blushing. He was so cute. “No problem.”

“Hey, love birds, Garcia has something for us. Are you guys paying attention?” Morgan stood and walked over to them, one eyebrow raised as a smirk played on his mouth. He chuckled when both of their faces broke into a darker blush. 

“Derek, leave them alone. You’re such a bully,” JJ scolded, not looking away from her tablet. “We have a few hours before we get to Reno, so we have plenty of time to go over the case,” she added. 

Kassidy couldn’t quite tell, but it looked as though Hotch was smirking. She cleared her throat and shot Morgan a pointed glare, “You’re such a jock, Der. Reid was just trying to help me calm my anxieties as any good friend and teammate would. You don’t need to read too into everything.” She pulled her tablet out of her bookbag that was by her feet, sticking her tongue out at him.

Morgan rose both his hands in surrender, “Whoa, whoa there, Sunshine. Shots fired- I get it.” He pulled his fingers across his lips as if zippering them closed, “I will no longer read too much into whatever the heck you and Reid have going on. I promise I’ll never talk about your obvious crushes anymore. I promise I won’t-”

“Morgan,” Hotch glanced up, “That’s enough.”

Kassidy shot Hotch a look that screamed, ‘thank you’ before looking back to Morgan. The two stuck their tongues out at each other once more before Morgan retook his seat. Reid looked like he wanted to climb into a hole. 

Kassidy giggled and smiled at Spencer, “Hey, don’t listen to him. You know he can’t stand not teasing you every five minutes. That’s the big brother in him,” she hummed before quickly adding, “You and I both know there’s nothing between us.” 

She couldn’t quite place it since Spencer smiled at her in response, but something flashed behind his eyes. It was there, and then it wasn’t. He just nodded before tapping on his own tablet. He was still a little red from Morgan’s comment.

She tapped her foot against his, just to make sure she didn’t hurt his feelings. When he pushed his foot back against hers, she found herself smiling again. 

It didn’t last since she had to look at the crime scene photos again. 

_”Our Jane Doe’s name is Nichole Mallery. She was also a stripper at Club Calico like we had initially thought. All three went missing 3 days ago, although only Megan Hickey was reported missing by her boyfriend. The other two are single and live alone.”_ Garcia informed the team when they were 20 minutes out from landing. Due to the time change, it was only 2:30pm in Nevada, the sun still hanging high in the summer sky. Kassidy was thankful she had packed some tanktops in her go-bag. It was going to be hot. 

“How do we know that Megan and Carmilla also went missing 3 days ago if they weren’t called in as missing?” Reid asked, looking at the small image of Penelope on the screen. She held up a finger, _”They were both supposed to work 2 nights ago and never came to work. Their boss thought they just no-called no-showed.”_

“All three women don’t come to work 2 nights in a row, and nobody thinks to check on them or see if anything’s wrong?” Rossi shook his head in disbelief. 

“In this line of work, it’s probably common for girls to just leave. Or be MIA for a few days at a time,” Morgan offered. 

Kassidy was looking at the photos of the girls when they were alive. She wanted to remember them as bright and beautiful. And alive. They were all smiles for the camera, most of the images coming from the Clubs website. “Hey, Pen,” she started, taking mental note of the other women in the photos, “do you know if Club Calico is closed for the investigation?”

 _”Ummm, no. It looks like they’re still open and operating as normal.”_ Garcia frowned at the news she shared. 

Hotch started to buckle his seatbelt, knowing the plane would be landing soon. “Garcia, go ahead and send me their number. We should convince them to close for the time being. All three girls came from there, so we have to assume that the other girls could be targeted next.” 

_”Yes sir, sending it now.”_

“Reid and Hughes,” Hotch looked at them, “when we land, I want you two to head to the Club and talk to the employees. Also, get any surveillance footage you can from them. We need to see if anyone was watching those girls in particular or requesting them multiple times.”

“Right,” Kassidy nodded, smiling at Reid, “It’ll be just like being at home. Except we’re adults now and allowed in the naughty places.” Reid sputtered as he took a sip from his coffee. He coughed. Morgan laughed. 

“Morgan, you and Emily will go to the crime scene. There should still be some officers there, so ask them what they know. Rossi, go to the M.E. and see what you can find there. JJ and I will go to the local PD station to get set up.”

Kassidy felt the shift of the plane as it prepared to descend. She buckled herself in, sliding her tablet into her bag. She could already feel how long this case was going to be.

It was good to be back to work.

Interviewing angry bosses who just wanted to reopen their businesses was never fun, especially when they didn’t seem to understand why they had to stay closed to begin with. 

“Sir,” Spencer was practically pleading with the man, “Club Calico will only be closed for the duration of the investigation. We just want to make sure your employees are kept safe.” 

“You don’t get it!” The man waved his arms around, trying to prove an invisible point, “These ladies have no other income! How can I support my ladies if we’re closed?”

Kassidy glanced at Spencer, who was rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He let out an exasperated sigh, “Again, Mr. Hampton, it’s only for a short time. Three of your,” he paused, clearing his throat, “ _ladies_ have been killed already. We don’t want to put anyone in danger, okay?”

Mr. Hampton still didn’t seem convinced, the anger set in stone behind his eyes. Kassidy bit her lower lip before speaking, “Mr. Hampton, have you noticed anyone paying any special attention to your girls? Especially in the past month. Did Megan, Nichole, or Carmilla come to you with concerns over a particular guest?”

He shifted his stance, hands going to his pockets, “No. My ladies don’t usually come to me about that stuff, though. They go to Brutus.”

“Brutus?” Kassidy could hear her own disbelief in her response. “Is he, um, a bouncer?”

“You can say that.” Mr. Hampton gave them a wicked grin, “We call him our enforcer. He protects the girls.” He shrugged, “Well, he’s supposed to.”

Spencer and Kassidy exchanged a look. “You don’t seem to broken up about the loss of three of your girls,” Spencer said slowly. Kassidy watched for microexpressions. There was the slightest twitch of Mr. Hampton’s eye. “Of course I’m broken up about ‘em! I love all my girls. I just have a business to run, you understand? The world don’t stop spinnin’ just cause someone dies.”

“Right,” Kassidy shifted from one foot to the other, a little uncomfortable. This wasn’t the conversation she thought she would have today. “Well,” she started, “Thank you for your time. We’d like to speak with some of your girls now, as well as Brutus. And see your tapes too.”

He waved his hand around with an exaggerated sigh, “Sure. Go right ahead. It’s not like we all don’t got something better to do anyway.”

Kassidy and Spencer walked past him and into the club. It was definitely a different atmosphere during the day than she imagined it would be at night. Overhead lights lit the place up nicely. It almost looked like a semi-fancy restaurant- with a stage and poles in the middle. A group of girls were sitting on the edge of the stage, huddled close and speaking quietly to each other. A huge man, Kassidy assumed was Brutus, was standing nearby them, his arms crossed. 

At their approach, the women looked up. Brutus locked eyes with the agents. Kassidy smiled, trying not to focus on him too much, “Hello, ladies. I’m Agent Kassidy Hughes with the FBI. This is Dr. Spencer Reid. Do you mind answering some questions for us?”

A beautiful woman with a tanned complexion and dark hair nodded, taking the lead, “Yes. We’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” She must have been their leader. Kassidy counted a total of four of them. They all had wet faces and puffy eyes. They were just crying.

Spencer cleared his throat before jumping right into it, “Have any of you noticed a man watching Megan, Nichole, or Carmilla especially closely in the past month or so? Maybe requesting them more often than anyone else?” For private shows, he didn’t say aloud. 

The first woman nodded again, “Well, there’s a lot of guys who are kind of our regulars. They request the same girls every time they come here-”

“There was that one guy,” a small red-haired woman spoke up. She was covered in freckles. When nobody interjected, she continued, “I mean, Carmilla told me he was creepy. He never wanted a dance. He just wanted to talk. He was here maybe twice a week for the last 3 months. Sometimes, he would just get angry and start telling her that she was a… a whore. She walked out on him last time, and he tried to apologize by buying her for $500. Brutus had to kick him out.”

Spencer was scribbling this down on a notepad. “Did this man approach Megan or Nichole?” He asked, not looking up from his notes. 

“No,” she replied slowly, “I don’t think so. Sorry I can’t be much more help.”

Kassidy smiled warmly, “That’s okay, you’re being very helpful. Even if that man isn’t our UNSUB, he can help lead us to who it is.”

The girls all nodded, sniffling and wiping their eyes. She reached out and handed her card to the first girl, “Can I ask your names?”

“Jasmine,” she replied as she took the card, looking it over. “This is Molly,” she motioned to the red-head, “Claire and Roxanne.” All the girls gave small nods at their names. 

“Have either of you noticed anyone watching _you_ more closely than normal? There’s a chance that he has had his eyes on more than just your friends,” Kassidy started, watching their expressions. They all remained silent, thinking about their nights at work. Finally, Roxanne bobbed her head slightly, “Well, there is this one guy.” Jasmine shot her a quiet glare. She went quiet again. 

Kassidy reached out and took Roxanne’s hand, directing her to make eye contact, “Roxanne,” she started, “It’s okay. Whatever you want to tell us could be super important, okay? Anything you can remember might help us catch the man who killed your friends.”

Roxanne flinched and pulled her hand away, looking down at her lap. She didn’t respond. None of them did. After a moment, Kassidy let out a breath, “Thank you, girls. If you happen to think of anything, anything at all, you can call me. And please be available to come in for more questions that might come up,” she kept her smile, wanting to be a safe place for them. They all nodded numbly in unison. Claire bit her lip and pushed herself off the stage, starting towards a back door. She shot Kassidy a glance before disappearing on the other side of the door. 

Spencer cleared his throat, peering at Brutus. “Can I um, ask you some questions, sir?” His voice cracked. Kassidy faked a cough, trying to cover her laugh. Brutus didn’t respond, choosing to stare at Spencer instead. “Okay,” he pushed his lips together, “I uh- here’s my card. If you think of anything, please give me a call.” 

Kassidy watched Reid squirm for a moment under the “enforcers” stare before tapping him on the shoulder. He flinched. “Hey, I’m going to look around. You should go see what you can find on their security videos,” she almost whispered. He nodded, taking her hint and looking at Jasmine, “Could you show me where your computers are kept?” 

She pursed her lips before sliding off the stage and motioning him to follow with her fingers, “Come on, pretty boy.” His face flushed. Kassidy couldn’t help but giggle a little as she turned towards the door Claire had disappeared behind. 

There was something that bothered these girls. She wanted to know what it was. 

Beyond the door was a dressing room. There were lockers aligned on one wall, while mirrors took up all the others. There were counters covered in make-up and glitter- it was like walking into the back room of the movie _Burlesque._

The back door hung open, letting in the heat of the Nevada summer. Claire stood just outside of it, a cigarette in her hand. She was staring at the mountains in the distance. 

Kassidy approached her carefully, not wanting to seem intimidating. Being a federal agent, sometimes scared people. Claire didn’t look at her. She took a drag from her cigarette. 

“I wanted to be an actress,” she said as she flicked her cigarette to the ground, stepping on it. “I wanted to be the next Marilyn Monroe. I wanted to be everything that I’m not.” Kassidy wanted to comfort her- it was the empath in her. But she stayed silent. 

Claire was pretty. She had short blonde hair that was curled at the ends, and shimmering green eyes. She could be the next Marilyn Monroe, Kassidy thought. 

“I was in L.A. first,” she mused, still staring at the mountains, “But nothing was happening for me there. So I went to Vegas. Again, nothing. I don’t remember how I ended up in Reno, but here I am. And now I’m stuck at this dump, and three of my closest friends that I’ve had in years just died.” Her eyes were watery, tears threatening to fall. She wiped the back of her hand across her face and let out a bitter laugh, “There’s um, shady guys who hang out with the boss,” she dropped her voice to a whisper, “they go to the back with some of the girls sometimes. The girls always look high when they return. Messy high. I started to wonder if they were being drugged and raped, but like, I couldn’t ask.”

Kassidy pursed her lips together as they locked eyes.

“Did Nichole, Megan, or Carmilla ask?”

“No, they were the ones going in the back. They never wanted to talk about it afterward. And now they’re dead.” There was bitterness in Claire’s voice. Kassidy frowned, “Who else ended up in the back room?”

Claire pulled out another cigarette and lit it, her hands shaking. “Um, Jasmine. And Roxanne.”

Kassidy wondered if the man Roxanne wanted to talk about was one who went into the back room. That would explain Jasmine’s reaction. 

“Okay, Claire, thank you. You’ve been so very helpful,” Kassidy placed her hand on Claire’s shoulder and smiled, “We’ll get the man who did this to your friends, okay? Until we do, I suggest you stay home and rest up for a bit. I know that this has probably taken quite an emotional toll on you. There are grief counselors that can help you- I have a number for one here,” she pulled out a card, along with her own, and handed it to Claire. Claire took the two cards and shoved them into her pocket without looking. She didn’t reply, instead taking a drag from her cigarette and staring at the mountains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all again for reading! I love this story so far and can't wait to finally get to the lovey-dovey bits-- but I'm holding back. Gotta make sure it's a slow burn, ya know? What's some pining for a super long time gonna hurt anybody?


	9. Part Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team continues their investigation into the disorganized murders in Reno. 
> 
>   
> 

Kassidy hated traveling to different time zones so often. It was only 4pm in Reno, but back home it was 7pm- which was when she would normally be having dinner before settling down for the night. Ideally, she would be back at the hotel with room service on their way, yet here she was, sitting in the cramped conference room of the Reno Police Department. She tried to ignore the hunger that threatened to make itself known to the room. 

She and Reid had arrived about 45 minutes ago after leaving Club Calico. After discussing their findings, the whole team came to the conclusion that Jasmine and Roxanne were most likely in danger, especially if the pattern held. 

“The men who would go into the backroom always had their heads down, faces angled away from the cameras like they knew where they were,” Reid started, pinning some printed photos to the corkboard. He pointed out the man in the lead, “This man here is much larger than the other four, and always held open the door for them. He would close and lock it behind them after the girls entered.”

“How do you know he locked it?” Rossi asked, peering up from over his file. 

“In the video, you can see the door handle turn just slightly as the key is placed in. There’s no keyhole on the outside of the door, so it must be on the other side.”

“Ah. Good eye, Reid,” Rossi nodded in his approval. 

Kassidy was idly swaying back and forth in her chair, studying the black-and-white images Spencer had put up. “Well,” she muttered, “if they’re dealing drugs then perhaps one or more of those men have previous priers or history in jail. The alpha,” she leaned forward and pointed to the still image of him alone, a hat covering his face, “most likely hasn’t served time. He’s too organized, too methodical with the cameras. He doesn’t even glance in their direction. He’s been doing this for a long time. I wouldn’t doubt he’s in his late 30’s or early 40’s.” She adjusted in her seat as her stomach growled- oh God _please_ tell her nobody heard that? Nobody said anything. Thank God.

She cleared her throat, “Two of the others are younger. They’re finicky. They keep nervously glancing towards the direction of the cameras because they know they’re there. I’d bet it’s one or both of them who are our UNSUB’s.”

“Nice profiling, Sunshine,” Rossi said as he shot her an approving smile, “You’re practically an expert.” She felt her face grow warm under his praise, a smile growing on her features, “Thanks, Rossi.”

Morgan leaned back into his chair, clicking his pen a few times in thought. He looked up at the ceiling as if all the answers in the universe were there, “Okay so, we have a possible illegal drug-running operation happening inside Club Calico. During the arrangements, some of the girls are given the product and most likely raped, based on Claire’s testimony. Or at least persuaded into sex. Out of those five girls, three turned up dead,” he paused, looking back at the room, “And their deaths were too messy and disorganized to be a hit.”

Kassidy had one of those light-bulb moments that she’s seen in cartoons, her eyes widening a little, “No, it wasn’t a hit, it was personal. The anger and mutilation done to the bodies after death shows sexual frustration. Maybe penetrating them with the knife wasn’t because it was the only way to get off, but because of anger? We aren’t 100% sure yet, but _if_ these girls are being used sexually while the drug dealings are happening, what if they still turned one of those guys down? Or he wasn’t allowed to touch them?” She stood up and walked over to the whiteboard, starting to write quickly.

“What if the girls are the price that Mr. Hampton pays to have the drugs brought to him?” She was writing down names: Mr. Joe Hampton, Brutus Azez, Charlie MacDonald, George Wilson. “These men are Mr. Hampton’s enforcers- he said it himself. But the dealer would have an enforcer too, right? If it’s not a new guy- one of the twitchy ones- then it could also be a bodyguard. Always forced to watch and never participate-”

“That would leave someone very sexually frustrated,” Emily interrupted, having walked into the room during Kassidy’s rant. She set a coffee down where Kassidy was once seated before taking the empty spot beside it. 

“Exactly,” Kassidy pointed at her, “No matter if it’s the bodyguard or a new guy, someone isn’t getting paid what they think they’re deserved. So they tortured and killed the girls.”

“But why not rape them?” Rossi asked-- taking a sip of the coffee that definitely belonged to Kassidy and not him-- “Why go through the trouble of such an angry murder? And not once, but three times?”

“That,” Kassidy started, her voice tinted with a bitter edge, “I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to ask the sick sonofabitch who did it.” This gathered a few glances of surprise her way. Kassidy wasn’t one to curse, let alone sound so upset. 

Spencer had been beside her the whole time, and place his hand on her shoulder. He didn’t say anything, rather just offering a small squeeze of assurance. 

“Good job, Hughes,” Hotch finally said, standing up, “We’ll have to go over the tapes again to prove that drug dealings were happening in that back room. Once we have that we can back Mr. Hampton into a corner, and hopefully get his list of suppliers.”

He looked at Morgan, “Can you call Garcia and have her start looking for younger men who have possibly served jail time for drug trafficking? Have her narrow it down to white males under 30.”

“You got it, Hotch,” Morgan replied as his phone was already to his ear. “Hey baby girl,” he greeted her as he spun around in his chair again.

Kassidy let out a breath she had been holding, smiling a little, “Great.”

“You wanna eat first?” JJ offered, that all-knowing motherly smile playing on her lips. Kassidy couldn’t help but let out an exhausted sounding laugh, “How did you know?”

“I think you’re getting hangry, Kass. We could use a break anyway. Come on, I wanted to check out that one restaurant I saw on the way here. The _Nugget_ I think it’s called. ”

“It’s also a casino,” Emily winked, “And one that Spencer probably isn’t banned from.”

Kassidy shot Spencer a curious look, “You’re banned from some casinos?” His face grew a little pink under her stare, “Uh, just a couple in Vegas. I’m really good at poker.”

“Whoa,” she heard herself speak before she registered her thoughts, “Every day I learn something new about Dr. Spencer Reid. What other wonders does that big brain of yours hold up there?” She tapped her finger to his forehead, releasing some kind of a mix between a confused laugh and a startled “yipe” from him. Morgan laughed, hanging up his phone. Spencer’s blush intensified under Derek’s stare.

“A break sounds fantastic,” Rossi laughed as he stood up, offering Kassidy’s latte to her. She turned to him and took it with a bemused smirk, knowing he definitely drank from it. And also knowing she definitely needed to stop looking at Spencer or she’d call him cute. “I could go for a nice steak and some red wine right about now,” Rossi added, breaking her from her thoughts.

“It’s only a little after 4:00-” Reid started, his hand rubbing to the back of his neck. 

“It’s after 7:00 back home, pretty boy,” Morgan smirked, “We’re all tired and hungry. We need to work out our profile a little before we deliver it, anyway. And we sent officers to Jasmine and Roxanne’s homes, so they’ll be safe while we eat something. We deserve this.” 

Kassidy watched as Reid seemed to struggle with an invisible war within himself. She knew he would work himself to death if they didn’t force him to sit down every once in a while. She wanted to find the UNSUB and put him behind bars _right now_ too, but that wasn’t realistic. 

She found herself placing a hand on his shoulder as he had done earlier, and she smiled at him, “Come on Spencer, let’s go get dinner, and then we’ll come back here. There’s plenty of daylight left here in the Biggest Little City in the world.”

She felt him tense under her touch, if only for a second before he relaxed. Finally, he smiled in return, “Alright.” His cheeks were still a little red from the earlier teasing.

“Whoa, what’s your secret, Hughs?” Emily joked, “We can never convince him to step away to eat something during a case.”

“It’s cause Sunshine has the secret touch-” Morgan started teasing before JJ elbowed him in the side, cutting him off. He let out a cough. 

Hotch was already out the door, not waiting even for a second for his team to follow him. Typical, Kassidy giggled to herself. She hurried to grab her bag and filed after JJ and Emily, heading towards the parking lot. 

Dinner was amazing. Kassidy leaned back in her seat with her hands on her stomach, a sleepy smile on her face. “I haven’t eaten a real meal like that in… a while,” she admitted. Emily and Morgan nodded in agreement, the latter picking at his teeth with a toothpick. 

“Mmhm,” he hummed, “too bad we’re only here for dinner and not games.” His eyes scanned beyond the ledge of the restaurant and into the casino, where the lights from the slot machines were flashing. Hotch gave him a pointed look but didn’t reply. Rossi smirked over his glass of wine. 

Kassidy leaned towards Spencer, who had barely touched his food, poking him in the side. He let out a surprised gasp and looked down at her (which wasn’t hard normally, considering he was at least a foot taller than her). He had been staring at a file he had brought with him. “Hey,” she murmured, glancing at his food before making eye contact again, “you really should eat something.” 

He gave her a tight-lipped smile, “I’m not that hungry.” He glanced back at the file, eyes darting across the page. She frowned, leaning her cheek against her fist and staring at him. As if he could feel her eyes boring into him, he sighed and peeked back up at her, “Really, Kass. I’m not,” he urged. She blinked slowly, taking his fork with her free hand and stabbing it into a cucumber from his salad. She held it up to him, like a mother trying to convince her child to eat the ‘airplane.’ 

“Come on, Spencer, at least finish your salad. I haven’t seen you eat hardly anything, well, ever. You’re working yourself to death. Please?” She inched the vegetable closer to his mouth. He knitted his brows together, lips pursed tightly in a confused frown, “Kass-”

“Just eat the salad, pretty boy,” Morgan chuckled, taking a sip of his water. 

“It won’t kill you,” JJ added, “In fact, it’s really good for you.” 

Cheeks bright red from the team’s eyes on him, Spencer finally took the fork from Kassidy’s hand and ate the damn cucumber. She clapped her hands silently, “Yay! One bite down, many more to go!” 

He groaned. Any argument he may have had was abandoned as he noticed the genuine smile that reached her eyes as she watched him. His blushing extended to his ears as he looked away from her, focusing on at least finishing the salad. 

She found herself thinking that once again, he was _just so_ cute. Handsome, actually, in this light. The late afternoon sun was shining through the window, summer hues of yellow and orange dancing in his hair as it bounced with his movements. His eyes were practically gold. She found herself focusing on how his lips moved in silent murmurs as he continued reading the report in his lap, his mind working at incredible speeds that which she would never understand.

“So,” Hotch interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to the present, “Do you think we’re ready to deliver the profile yet, Hughes?” 

She hummed, clearing her throat. Tapping her fingers along her water glass, “I think so. I was thinking back to how disorganized the actual murders were, yet somehow the UNSUB was able to take all three girls at once, showing _something_ of organization. What if it’s a team we’re looking at? It would take more than one person to get all three girls to corporate-”

“Unless he had a gun,” Emily pointed out. Kassidy shook her head, “I mean, maybe? And the girls were drugged, so a strong man _could_ potentially be able to subdue all three at once. I just think, with how messy everything was, someone else had to help our UNSUB at least get the girls into their vehicle.” 

Reid’s eyes didn’t distract from the file, his jaw setting as he swallowed a bite of his food. “Wait,” he muttered, “I’m looking over the M.E. reports again for all three victims. The penetration with the knife was so severe that they couldn’t conclude if the girls were raped or not.”

“No wonder you aren’t hungry, looking at that,” Morgan commented. Emily nodded in agreement. 

“I mean, originally we thought the UNSUB couldn’t perform sexually and used a knife instead, right? What if he raped them first, though?” Reid glanced back up at the table. 

“How would that change our profile?” Hotch asked, studying him. 

Kassidy pushed some hair behind her ear, contemplating this new information. “Well,” she started, “I think that makes my profile fit better, actually. Someone who isn’t allowed access to the girls during the dealings gets angry and kidnaps them. He then rapes them before taking out his anger on them, leaving them in a pile by a dumpster- as if they’re trash. They don’t mean anything to him, because as far as he’s concerned they aren’t real people.”

“If it’s a team, then we most likely have a dominant and submissive pair. The dominant is the one who raped and murdered the girls, while he had the submissive help him with the abduction and torture,” Emily concluded. 

The table nodded in silent agreement. Morgan picked up another toothpick to chew on, sliding it from one side of his mouth to the other, “Alright, so we’re looking for a disorganized team. Most likely the two younger finicky guys we saw on the video. If we can narrow down who they are, then we have our UNSUBs.”

“Right,” Hotch confirmed. He gave a small smile towards Kassidy and Spencer, “Good job you guys. We should go deliver this profile now.”

Garcia had been watching and rewatching the tapes over and over again, trying to gather as much information as she could from them. Eventually, she was able to give the team these facts: the two finicky men were about 5 foot 4 inches and 5 foot 7 inches. They interacted as if they knew each other very closely, so they were possibly brothers or very close friends. The shorter one was the dominant one, which was obvious with how he steered the taller one around the building. 

She was able to pull tapes from a nearby gas station to get a decent look at their faces, however pixelated they were. It would have to do. 

“We’re looking for two white males, mid to late 20’s, who operate in a dominant/submissive relationship. The dominant male has decided that these women, in particular, are owed to him as if they’re his property. The submissive man helped him to abduct, torture, and then get rid of the bodies, however, we don’t believe he had a hand in the killing himself,” Hotch started. 

Reid cleared his throat, “Statistically in these types of relationships, the submissive will do anything the dominant asks of them, either under the guise of protection or fear. If we can separate the two, the dominant will believe that he has the submissive under his thumb- so to speak- but if we can create even a sliver of doubt between them, we can usually coerce a confession.” He had a habit of speaking with his hands, his fingers tugging at his vest when he was finished, looking for something to occupy them. Kassidy couldn’t help but watch how he spoke; so professionally and passionately. He loved this job. 

“However,” Morgan began, “Bringing these men in won’t be easy. We’ve seen it time and time again where the duo would rather die than go to prison. Now, we suspect that at least one of these men have been in jail before, at least the dominant one, so we know he won’t want to go back. Expect them to put up a fight, but try to take them alive. The leader of the two might try to tell his follower to kill himself, to keep him from talking. We’ve seen that before too, so be aware.”

Kassidy wondered what kind of case Morgan was talking about. She herself hadn’t been on any case like that before, so it must have been in the years before her arrival to the team. The idea of someone trusting someone else so completely with their life that they would willingly kill themselves just because the other asked was… unnerving. 

“Thank you for your time,” Rossi added right at the end after saying something else that might have been important. Kassidy wasn’t paying attention. Oh well, she knew the profile already, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. 

She found herself humming a little, wandering back to the conference room. Emily approached her with a smile, opening her mouth to ask something- but then Kassidy’s phone was ringing. Emily rose and eyebrow, “Who’s that? Your boyfriend?” She was teasing. Kassidy rolled her eyes, glancing at the caller ID, “No, I don’t have a boyfriend, Em,” she stuck her tongue out as a child would before continuing, “I think it’s one of the girls from the club that I talked to earlier.” 

She placed the phone to her ear, “This is Kassidy Hughs-”

 _“Um, Agent Hughes,”_ the voice on the other end of the phone was shaking, breathy, sobbing, _“Please help me.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading!  
> So, a couple of things:
> 
> 1) When I started writing this fic I had wanted to come up with all the cases myself (after plenty of research, of course). I still want to have some of my own cases, however, I also really want to follow the plot lines of the story as if Kassidy were there for it, ya know? In order to do that I will be writing about some of the cases from the show, but changing them to fit the narrative that I want a bit better (does that make sense?). I will continue to add my own cases here and there too, of course. 
> 
> 2) I created a Tumblr account for my Criminal Minds stuff! You can follow it here (but like, only if you wanna):  
> https://ssa-kassidyhughs.tumblr.com/
> 
> 3) And finally, I would love any feedback anyone would like to give me! I love reading comments and hearing about opinions/suggestions, so don't be afraid to shoot some my way <3 ILY all


	10. Part Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can the team save the girls in time?
> 
>   
> 

“Jasmine?” Kassidy’s voice took on a serious tone that made Emily blink in surprise. She turned and hurried to the whiteboard, placing her phone on speaker, hitting a button on the screen, and grabbing a marker, writing almost frantically, “Jasmine, where are you? Are you okay?”

There was a choked sob from the phone, followed by hitched breathing, _”I-I don’t know where I am,”_ she cried, _”I think I’m in the back of a van- it happened so fast. Roxanne is here too- she’s unconscious! I don’t know what else to do-- I still had your card-”_

“That’s good Jasmine, that’s good. Can you tell me what happened?” Kassidy hardly noticed as her team had filed into the room, watching with bated breath as they listened to the terrified girl on the other side of the line. She was writing so quickly, her handwriting messy and almost illegible. Spencer came up beside her, trying to decipher what she was doing.

 _”Um, I went out for a smoke. And then I was going to go back in but heard a gunshot-- oh god they shot the cop!”_ She let out another sob, hiccuping in her tears, _”And then someone grabbed me, and now I don’t know what they’re going to do to me!”_

Kassidy finally realized she wasn’t alone and peered back to see Hotch on his phone. Hopefully he had Garcia tracing the call. She noted Spencer’s presence too, and even in this panicky moment, was thankful he was there.

“It’s okay Jasmine, we’re going to find you and Roxanne, okay? You said you were in a van; did you see what color the van was? Are there any windows you can see out of?”

The line was silent aside from the soft sniffling, _”N-no. I’m so sorry. Are we going to die like our friends?”_

“No Jasmine, I won’t let that happen to you two. I promise that we’re going to get you out of there, safe,” Kassidy said assuringly. She picked her phone back up and held it to her shoulder, taking it off the speaker, “Listen to me, okay? Take deep breaths, okay? How many men were there?”

_”Um.. Two? I think?”_

“Good, now try to listen and feel your surroundings. Is the van moving? If so, does the road feel smooth or bumpy?”

 _”U-um, we’re not moving right now. That’s why I called, cause the guys aren’t here right now. They left us here. Oh God, Roxanne isn’t moving,”_ she paused, _”We’re locked in,”_ she started to hyperventilate, _”Oh gosh Miss Kassidy- Don’t touch Roxy! Leave her alone-!”_

There was a sudden shriek coming from the phone, followed by a man’s angered shout. Then silence.

“Jasmine? Jasmine, are you still there? Jasmine!” Kassidy pulled her phone away to see the call had ended. She glanced up at the whiteboard where she had been writing. In her messy scribbles she could see how her mind had done what it does best: listening and profiling. She had been taking notes on _everything_ she heard. Which included the distinct sound of a type of train horn in the distance, as well as the beeping of heavy machinery. 

Before anyone could say anything she shot a look straight at Spencer, “They’re in a train yard of some kind. How many of those are in Reno?”

“Only one prominent one,” He replied, “There’s an Amtrak that runs through Reno from Sacramento.” 

“There must be some construction happening nearby- that’s where they’re at. Garcia-”

 _“I hear you, Sunshine!”_ Garcia’s voice called from Hotch’s phone, _”I wasn’t able to locate the exact location of the call, but it pinged a couple of towers. Now with the new parameters…”_ the sounds of her absurdly-fast typing echoed in the room. Kassidy could feel the sweat building on her neck, her heart seemingly pounding a little faster than normal. Those girls’ lives were on the line, and she promised she would save them. 

She had to save them.

_”I got it! There’s a new casino being built near the Amtrak and Evans Ave! Sending the exact address to your phones now-- Go save those girls, Avengers!”_

The SUV slid onto the construction site, dust flying and lights flashing. A few men were still getting ready to leave for the day, standing with their mouths agape at the federal agents that practically flew out of their vehicles, guns drawn. Hotch waved his arm at them, “Get out of here,” he ordered. No one argued with him.

Kassidy stalked low, hurrying around the edge of an outer building. She could hear the highway from here; could smell the summer heat that came from the fresh asphalt in this construction site. The sun had just set, a wide shadow being cast over the city. She gripped tightly to her gun, eyes scanning the area. The only light was that of the city beyond this site.

If the van was for an electrical or drywall company, the men at the gate wouldn’t have thought anything of it being here. They wouldn’t have known that there were two women hidden in the back about to meet their deaths. About to be brutally raped and murdered-

No, stop. Don’t think of that Kass. Focus. She took a deep breath, pushing forwards through the yellowing grass and dirt. Around the corner she aims her gun, only to see Morgan on the other side. He nodded at her and stalked forward. She followed at his heels. 

Over the earpiece, she heard Emily’s voice whisper, _”I see them. Far right side of the site, there’s a large pit. One of them is using a shovel.”_

 _”Proceed with caution,”_ Hotch instructed, _”They’re probably armed. We need to wait on SWAT to approach.”_

Kassidy put her hand to ear and nodded at Morgan, “Der and I are coming around from the left. We don’t have time to wait on SWAT.”

 _”Hughes,”_ Hotch warned, _”Do not approach until we have a sniper set up-”_

“Emily said they were digging. They might be burying those girls right now if we don’t do something,” she hissed in response, “I’m moving in.” Derek gave her a look that told her ‘I wouldn’t if I were you,’ but he didn’t stop her, nor did he say anything. He seemed to be on her side, moving along with her towards their target. 

Cresting a small dirt hill they spotted the van. It was green with an electrical company’s logo, just as Kassidy had thought. On the other side of the van were two men, both in black suits. One was using a shovel to push dirt into a hole that Kassidy couldn’t see from her vantage point. The other was standing over him, holding a gun in his shaking hand. 

She started to walk towards them, her gun trained on the shorter one’s head, “FBI,” she announced. They both jerked their heads up at her, the one dropping the shovel in favor of scrambling for a gun he had in his pocket, “I wouldn’t if I were you,” Morgan said, standing beside Kass with his gun on the other UNSUB. 

The first one held his gun out, switching between pointing at Kassidy and Morgan. His hands were steadier now, but still shaking. 

“Don’t come any closer!” He shouted, licking his lips, “Or- or we’ll kill the girls!”

“Where are Jasmine and Roxanne right now?” Kassidy asked, eyes trained on him like a hawk to a mouse. She could see his adam’s apple bob in the headlights of the van. His eyes darted towards the vehicle, then back to her. 

“Are they still in the van?” Morgan asked. He noticed too. He took a step forward, the second man picking up the shovel again and holding it like a weapon, “He said don’t come closer! We’ll kill ‘em if you do! Stay back!”

Kassidy couldn’t help but notice that both of these men seemed rather disorganized. They were both shaking, sweaty, and nervous. 

Morgan shook his head, “We can’t do that, boys. Now, tell me, where are the girls? If we can get the girls from you safely, then I guarantee you’ll be getting out of here alive. If you try to fight us, I cannot keep that promise.”

“No!” The first one shouted, “We’re in charge here! We have hostages! You drop your weapons and back off!” 

Kassidy saw the glint of light against something metal: a gun. Recognizing Hotch and Rossi, she noted they were standing behind the UNSUBs and obscured by a small building. She knew they would have her back. 

So, slowly, she put her hands up in surrender and leaned down to set her gun in the dirt. Morgan eyed her dangerously, “Kass, what are you doin’?” He hissed. She ignored him, taking a step towards the UNSUBs, “Okay, I’m unarmed. I want to see the girls now, just to make sure they’re safe.”

“Him too,” he pointed his gun at Morgan. It took a moment, but soon he did the same. She wondered if he noticed Hotch and Rossi were there, or if he was just blindly trusting her. Either way, she knew they weren’t in any real danger. Hotch would probably still scold her for this later. 

“Are there any more of ya? Feds?” The second asked, still holding his shovel tightly. Kassidy shook her head slowly side-to-side, “No, it’s just us here. We came looking for the girls. But, you two clearly have the upper hand on us. If you give us the girls, we’ll let you go.” She had watched her team use this tactic before, and secretly hoped it would work here. She herself had never been in the line of fire of an UNSUB before, but it wasn’t as scary as she once imagined. Maybe that was because she knew she was safe? She knew her team was surrounding them, watching her every move. She felt oddly calm. 

The first swallowed, shooting a look at his partner. Kassidy took another step forward, hearing the dirt crunch under her shoes, “We put our weapons down,” she reminded him, “As you asked.”

“You did,” he replied. His grip on the gun tightened as she took one more step. In another two or three, she’d be able to see into the hole they were digging. She moved slowly, hands still raised. 

“I also told you to back off,” he practically growled as he pulled the trigger. 

Getting hit with a bullet was never pleasant. Not even a little bit. Kassidy realized this as she hit the ground, the wind being knocked right out of her. She heard a couple more rounds go off before silence settled over the dusty lot, the wind blowing dirt past her. She coughed, staring at the purple and black sky above her. She could faintly see the blinking light of a plane as it flew away.

Morgan was suddenly there, his face starting out a little blurry before coming into focus, “Kass?” He called, ripping her vest open. She coughed again, the groaned, “Flip-flop,” she muttered, “that hurt.” Her chest felt like it was on fire and she could already feel the bruise that was blossoming on her skin. Her lungs ached.

“Flip-flop?” He questioned, his eyes scanning her for blood. Satisfied that the vest caught the bullet, he put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her sitting up. She let out a shaky breath, “Yeah, freaking flip-flops. Thank God he was a lousy shot, right?” She tried to smile at her friend, wincing a little. He blew air out of his mouth and shook his head, trying to hide his own smile, “Kass, that was dumb.”

“I know.”

“Hotch is going to be _pissed._ ”

“I know.”

Morgan stood up and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. Emily and Reid approached them from behind, the two both looking oddly pale. Kassidy chuckled at the worry lines on their faces, “Guys I’m fine,” she insisted, “See?” She pointed to the bullet that was stuck in the vest.

“I doubt you’re fine,” Reid started, “Seeing as the vest only stops the bullet but not the force of the bullet. With how far you flew back, I would not be surprised to learn if you bruised your chest plate. That was pretty powerful, to say the least.”

“Don’t worry, Spencer. I’ll be okay,” Kassidy smiled, trying _so hard_ to not flinch as Morgan slapped her on the shoulder. Ouch. Freaking ouch. She shot him a look that screamed ‘I’m going to kill you,’ but he turned away before he could feel the brunt of her eye-daggers. He was chuckling. Spencer’s eyes were still studying her, watching as her breath hitched with her movements. He met her eyes, “You should probably get checked out. Just in case,” he said quietly. She fought the urge to laugh, deciding to shake her head with a small smile instead, “Okay, okay. I’ll let an EMT look. Just in case,” she repeated.

She turned and looked back at where the UNSUBs were once standing, their bodies now still as their blood stained the dirt. Good. She heard Rossi open the van and walked over to meet up with him, wanting to check on Jasmine herself. She had promised her that she would save her, after all. And she did. She saved the girls, like she promised. She could hear Reid and Emily’s footfalls behind her.

Except, Jasmine and Roxanne weren’t in the van. There was blood splatter on the wall, a bullet casing on the floor. Kassidy blinked slowly, owlishly, looking at Rossi with confusion. Where were the girls?

“Hughes,” she heard Hotch call her. She spun around, seeing her unit chief standing by the bodies of the UNSUBs. “You should go back to the hotel,” he said, his eyes focused on the hole they had been digging. 

“What?”

“Go back to the hotel. Rossi, JJ, and I will finish the case with the local PD. The rest of you should get ready to leave tomorrow morning.”

Kassidy was confused. The case wasn’t over; they still needed to find the girls. She said just as much, feeling Spencer’s presence close in on her, Morgan on her other side, “Hotch, we need to find Jasmine and Roxanne-”

“Sunshine,” Morgan hummed, pulling her towards him and away from Hotch, “I think what he’s trying to say, is we did find them.”

She blinked again, slowly, deliberately. No. No, she promised she would save them. She spun around, out of Morgan’s grip, and hurried towards Hotch, stopping short of falling into the pit. Spencer reached out and grabbed her arm, but she pulled from his grip too easily. She stared at the scene before her, eyes darting back and forth. 

Below her, in a hastily dug hole, were the two girls she was supposed to save. They were both shot in the back of the head, execution-style, their blood still wet and matting in their hair. They were just as still as their murderers who lay nearby. 

She tried to swallow the sudden lump in her throat, her eyes blurring at the edges with emotion. “No,” she started, her voice quiet, “No- I promised Jasmine that we would save them. I told her that it was okay, that it would all be okay. Oh God,” her knees felt wobbly under all the weight of grief that overtook her. Morgan’s arm snaked around her waist and guided her away, walking her back towards the SUV’s in the distance. He was shushing her, murmuring that it was okay. But she didn’t feel okay. She wasn’t okay. She _promised_ Jasmine that she would save them. Oh, God. No, no, no!

The second she was in the back seat of the car she felt the floodgates open. Her shoulders shook as a sob left her throat, her tears streaking down her dusty cheeks. Her chest ached so much, the bruise stealing her breath from her as she tried to inhale. Hiding her face in her shaking hands, she tried to hold back a hiccup of emotion. The sweat from the summer heat was beading across her forehead, tasting like dirt and salt as she inhaled sharply. Her hair was sticking to the back of her neck, soaking wet in the adrenaline of the case. 

She felt the car rock a little as someone climbed into the driver’s seat, and for a moment she debated on trying to conceal her emotions. She tried to stop herself from coughing as more tears streamed from her eyes. Every cough hurt so bad. But she couldn’t stop. Someone’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her to them. She reached out and grabbed at their vest, her fingers digging into the material as she buried her head into their chest. Her whole body shook, wracked with her sobs. Whoever was holding her started running their hand through her hair, holding her to them closely. 

Emily, she realized. She choked, “Em,” her voice was wet, bubbling with emotion, “I promised her- I promised-”

“Shh, we did what we could,” Emily shushed, turning into a hum and petting Kassidy’s hair. She didn’t seem bothered by the dirt or the sweat in the least, “We brought them justice.” She kept humming, holding Kass close. 

It didn’t feel like justice was served whatsoever. Those evil men were lying in their own blood, having escaped their fate of being locked behind bars for the rest of their miserable lives. Kassidy felt overwhelming grief. She didn’t know Jasmine or Roxanne, not really. She didn’t even know their last names. But she was the last person Jasmine spoke to. She was their last hope at survival. And she didn’t save them. 

She didn’t save them.

Sitting on the floor of the tub, the shower set to as hot as it could go, water pouring down across her body, Kassidy held her knees to her chest. She kept her eyes closed, thinking back to the blood that stained the ground around the bodies.

After crying for what seemed like forever, she was now numb. She didn’t feel much of anything aside from the heat that was turning her skin pink. Well, everywhere besides her chest was pink. She was right about the bruise, and it was a large one; purple with yellowed splotches. It hurt when she breathed too deeply. She tried to ignore it, focusing on her thoughts instead.

Something just wasn’t sitting right with her. Why did they execute the girls? Why did the M.O. change so drastically? Was it because the UNSUBs knew the FBI would be coming? Because they caught Jasmine on the phone? Did they panic, thus resulting in the girls deaths? That still didn’t make sense. The whole point of kidnapping them to begin with was for the dominant to own them; to rape and torture them before taking out his rage against them. Why shoot them without the satisfaction of using them first?

Sexual sadists were predictable. They almost _always_ stuck to their routines. Even with the police closing in, they would have tried to get off somehow. Even if that meant using the knife as the murder weapon. Stabbing them through the eyes would have fit the M.O. much better than shooting them in the back of the head. 

She leaned her head back against the tile of the shower, opening her eyes. The whole room was nothing but steam at this point. Her skin was more red than pink now. She stared at the ceiling. 

What if the profile was wrong? What if the two men they found were both submissive? They were both so nervous, shaking like leaves. Neither had seemed dominant to her. That meant there was at least one more UNSUB; the actual leader. 

The realization made her scramble to her feet-- almost slipping before she grabbed the wall-- her chest was screaming in protest. She turned the water off and jumped from the shower. Grabbing a towel, trying to dry herself quickly, she hurried back into her hotel room, picking up her phone and dialing Hotch. 

_”Hotchner,”_ he answered. 

“Hotch, I think we have a third UNSUB. Those two at the site were way too disorganized. They were pawns. We need to find their leader- we need to rethink the profile.” She dropped her phone back on the bed, hitting the speaker. He could probably hear her digging through her bag for clean clothes. She tried not to wince as she reached around for what she was looking for.

_”Alright, Hughes, we were just thinking the same thing. Rossi and I are reviewing the footage right now to see who the leader is.”_

“I think it might be Mr. Hampton,” Kassidy heard herself say. She didn’t consider him before, but now his attitude towards her and Spencer was starting to make sense. He organized the murders of his own girls, but the question was why?

 _”Why do you think that, Hughes?”_ Hotch sounded skeptical. She could hear Rossi mumble something on the other side. 

She pulled her orange blouse over her head, her wet hair already soaking into the back of the material. She let out a hiss as the material touched her chest. Maybe she should get it looked at. After this was over, at least. 

“He wasn’t very upset about their deaths when we interviewed him. At first, we thought there was anger behind the murders because we thought the UNSUB wasn’t allowed to use the girls, right? Like he saw them as property? Well, Mr. Hampton used language that shows he believes they are _his_ property. What if he was tired of them using his products? Claire- one of the strippers- told me that the girls always looked high when they left the back room,” She was on a roll, her thoughts running a million miles an hour. She pulled some jeans on and grabbed her belt, looping it through as quickly as she could. “What if they weren’t being used for sex after all? They just did drugs with the dealers, which would be deducted from the amount Mr. Hampton could buy. What if he hired those two goons to abduct the girls, and he took out his rage on them?”

There was a beat of silence before Hotch replied, _”Good job, Hughes. Meet us at the station.”_ He hung up. She glanced at the time. It was 10pm here, meaning it was 1am back home. She was so tired, and her body hurt, but she needed to see Mr. Hampton receive the justice he deserved. 

Shoving her phone into her pocket, grabbing her gun, she was out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! I hope these cases that I write myself are as twisty and turny as the show. Or at least entertaining, lol.


	11. Part Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team catches the UNSUB, Mr. Hampton, and return home.
> 
>   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter feels very filler-y to me, but I wanted to start writing about the world inside Kassidy's mind a bit more. I haven't written fanfiction in quite a few years, so I feel like this story is helping me rebuild where I left off, in a sense of style and flow. I hope you all don't mind too much that the chapters seem to be slowing down now (they'll still be posted almost every day, just the flow has kind of shifted).

_”Kassidy, honey, please reconsider! What am I going to do without you?” Her mom held the hem of her shirt in her hands, fiddling with it nervously. Tears were threatening to fall, her eyes taking on a glassy appearance. Kassidy just shook her head slowly, reaching for her mother’s hands and taking them in her own. She squeezed them, interlacing their fingers together, “I’m sorry, mom. I can’t pass up an opportunity like this-- this is the FBI we’re talking about! This is everything I’ve ever dreamed of.”_

_Her mom scoffed, pulling away and turning her back to her, rubbing her arms, “_ Everything you’ve ever dreamed of, _I’m sure. What about when you wanted to be a teacher? Or a scientist? Why isn’t the ETI here in Vegas good enough for you? I didn’t even want you chasing after gang-bangers, to begin with! And now you’re going across the country to catch people who are worse than-than those thugs!”_

_“Mom,” Kassidy sighed, pushing a stray hair behind her ear, “You know I always wanted to be like dad. Just let me have this, please? If it doesn’t work out, I’ll come right back. And if it does work out, then I’ll come to visit as often as I can-”_

_“No, you won’t,” her mom replied bitterly. She fought back against her tears, “You’ll be too busy saving the world, just like your dad. You’ll forget all about little old me, leaving me behind. You don’t even care how I feel about this, do you?”_

_Kassidy bit her lip, shuffling her feet slightly. Her heart was feeling heavier now than it had in a long time. She exhaled slowly, “Mom,” she started again, “I’m going to Quantico. Las Vegas is just not where I want to live for the rest of my life. I want to see the world, and I can do that in the BAU. I know you’ll never understand, but you need to let me live my own life.”_

_Her mother’s shoulders tensed. Then they started shaking. She was crying._

_“Mom?” Kassidy came up next to her, dipping her head to look at her mother’s face. She reached up and wiped away some tears, “It’s okay. You know I’ll call every Sunday, and I’ll send you postcards from the places I travel to, okay? I’m never that far away. And nothing in this world is more important to me than you, right?”_

_Finally, her mom sniffled, opening her eyes and nodding, “Right,” she replied. She bit her lip- a habit that Kassidy realized she got from her- “But I still don’t like it.”_

_“We can’t always like change. But I’m sure you’ll find a handsome boyfriend to keep you company once I’m gone.”_

_“Yeah, right,” she scoffed, “I’m not that loveable.”_

_“I love you, mom. You’re the most loveable person in the world.”_

_She smiled softly and kissed her daughter’s forehead, “I love you too, honey.”_

Kassidy gripped the passenger door handle and stared out the window at the lights of the city. Bright neon signs flashed as people came and went from every casino and bar. It reminded her of home, of Las Vegas. When she was a child, her father would drive her up and down the strip to watch the lights and see the fountain shows. She would point out the window at everything bright and beautiful, smiling and laughing. They never went to any of the shows, but driving past them was more than enough for her. Here, she felt a bubble of nostalgia in her chest.

But that bubble popped after a moment, replaced with a sharp pain that radiated from between her breasts as the car came to an abrupt stop. She hissed, her hand gingerly touching her chest as she reminded herself to breathe. 

“Sorry, Sunshine,” Morgan caught her in the corner of his eye, “This guy in front of me just slammed on his brakes. Hey buddy! Move it!” He honked the horn a couple of times. Emily cleared her throat from the back seat, “Derek, just turn on the siren.”

“Right,” he did just that, driving around the car in front of them. 

Kassidy closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat. They were currently on their way to arrest Mr. Hampton after waking up a judge for a warrant. Garcia found some discrepancies in his financial records that would work in the court’s favor in proving he was buying drugs: cocaine, Spencer had deduced. Somehow he knew the general prices for quite a few illegal products, which lead him to calculate that Mr. Joe Hampton was buying a few grams of cocaine twice a week from the same supplier. 

It also just made sense, seeing as the tox screen on all five victims showed they had cocaine in their systems. So, the extra calculations weren’t _really_ that necessary. It was kind of fun to watch Spencer do the mental math, though, Kassidy internally admitted. He did this thing with his mouth like he was talking to himself, his fingers moving like he was writing. Gosh, he was so smart- it wasn’t fair. Kassidy always felt like such a child when standing beside him, not only for her lack of knowledge about basically everything, but he had maybe a whole foot of height on her. However, she didn’t mind being short because she had the perfect angle to watch him talk and ramble about anything and everything. She could watch his eyes wide with excitement as he talked for hours-

“... Did you hear me, Kass?”

“Huh?” She opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder at Emily, who was frowning at her. “What? Sorry, I kind of dozed off, I think. It’s like, really late, Em.” She wrinkled her nose at her friend to make a point. Emily blew some of her hair out of her face, “You’re killing me, kid. I asked if you got looked at by a doctor yet? You flinch every time the car turns or stops.”

“Oh,” Kassidy turned back and looked out the window. They were driving in the suburbs now. “No,” she admitted, “I was going to go in the morning after I sleep tonight. I’m sure it’s fine, though; just a nasty bruise. I guess I should get something to wrap it up cause every time I move, I’m reminded I have boobs.”

Morgan snickered but didn’t say anything. Emily reached forward and slapped his shoulder, gaining a shocked expression from him, “What? I didn’t say anything!”

“You didn’t have to,” she replied, turning back to Kassidy, “I’ll go with you if you want. We can get some coffee and breakfast before we get on the plane home.”

“That sounds nice,” Kassidy hummed in response, “I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Okay, girlies, you’ll have to continue planning your little date later, ‘cause we’re here.” Morgan pulled into the driveway of a decent looking home. It reminded Kassidy of every bare tan home with red shingles she had ever seen. It was a typical design in Las Vegas. It was here too, it seemed. There were potted cacti on the porch, a single rocking chair, and the lights were on. 

Stepping out of the vehicle, Kassidy followed Emily and Morgan towards the front of the house. She wasn’t really in the mood for being shot again, so she held back by a few feet. In the corner of her eye, she saw Reid, Rossi, and Hotch go around the side towards the back. They would have him surrounded. 

Morgan waited for a few beats before knocking on the door, “Mr. Joe Hampton, FBI, open the door.”

There was a clattering from inside, followed by cursing. Morgan gave him a moment to answer before knocking once more, “We know you’re home, Joe! We have a warrant, and we’re coming in!” 

When nobody came to the door, he kicked it in. Leave it to Derek Morgan to kick in every door he came across. 

Kassidy filed in behind him and Emily, drawing her gun. Morgan hurried towards the back of the house while Emily went down a hallway. Kassidy stayed by the front door, just in case Joe Hampton tried to escape. She glanced around the living room, not surprised to see a few lines of white powder on the coffee table, a baggy nearby alongside a credit card. They caught him in the middle of using. 

“Clear!” Emily shouted from a bedroom. 

“He’s trying to get out the back!” Morgan relayed, followed by something smashing to the floor. Kassidy rushed forwards and around the corner, entering the kitchen. A glass bowl that once held apples was shattered across the tile, said fruit rolling under the dining table. Morgan had tackled Mr. Hampton, holding his arms behind him and clasping on handcuffs. 

“Are you okay?” Kassidy asked, noticing the small amount of smeared blood on Morgan’s hand. He followed her eyes to the cut and shrugged, “Just a scratch. I’m fine. This bastard, though, won’t be.” He stood up, yanking Mr. Hampton to his feet with him. The earlier anger that Kassidy had felt towards this man was back; tenfold. The images of Jasmine and Roxanne’s bodies flashed through her mind, followed by the first three victims. He did that to them. He might not have killed Jasmine himself, but he ordered her death. He did it all. 

“Come on, man! I didn’t do anything!” Mr. Hampton practically screamed, his pupils dilated and darting around the room, unable to focus on anything. Morgan shoved his shoulder, “Shut up. We know everything, Mr. Hampton. You’re going to be spending a long time behind bars.”

Kassidy stared at him, watching the sweat bead down his face. He was so high. She wanted to slap him. She wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him, screaming at him and telling him exactly what he had done- he had ruined so many lives. Those girls didn’t deserve it; they were so young and beautiful and-

“He’s high as a kite,” Emily commented from the doorway, “We’ll have to sober him up a bit before we can talk to him. Anything he says now would be useless in court.”

Kassidy groaned, turning on her heel and hurrying out of the house. If she stayed any longer, she would surely end up doing something she regretted. She felt Emily on her heels. 

“Kass?”

She kept walking, re-holstering her gun. 

“Kassidy?”

God, why did men like Mr. Hampton have to exist? Why did drugs have to ruin so many people’s lives? Why did they risk everything just for their next fix? Why-

“Kass!” Emily’s hand was on her shoulder, spinning her around, so they were face-to-face. Kassidy blinked in surprise, her mouth suddenly dry. Ugh, her chest hurt—a lot. 

“What?” She replied, feeling the venom in that one word. The corner of Emily’s mouth twitched into a frown. Kassidy felt the tension leave her shoulders at that, suddenly feeling a little sheepish, “Sorry. I just…” she couldn’t finish her sentence. She knew that Emily would understand. And in that understanding, her friend nodded, quietly replying, “I know.”

The two watched as Morgan and Hotch brought Mr. Hampton out of the house and towards a cop car that had followed the team. Red and blue lights were flashing all over the street. Hotch opened the back door, and Morgan pressed on the bastard’s head, pushing him into the seat before slamming the door. Kassidy couldn’t help but notice some blood on the white metal. 

She left Emily’s side and approached Derek, taking him by surprise as she grabbed his wrist gently and lifted his hand. There was a decent-sized slice on his palm, hot blood still oozing from the recent wound. 

“You said it was a scratch,” she started, her eyes peering up at him. He shrugged, not fighting to pull away or hide it, “Felt like a scratch. It’s not that deep; it just looks ugly.”

“It could have cut through some nerves,” she added, gingerly holding it up to keep the blood from dripping. “Let’s get it wrapped up. I think the EMT’s are almost here.” Her eyes left his and went back to inspecting the wound. It looked as though there was dirt in his cut, stained red with his blood. But it wasn’t dirt. She couldn’t tell what it was. 

“Der,” she started, meeting his eyes again, “Did you knock anything else over besides the fruit bowl?-” She stopped. His pupils were dilated. He licked his lips and placed his other hand on his forehead, wiping away some sweat, “Uh, no? I don’t think so?” His eyes darted around at all the lights, his breathing picking up. 

“Oh jeez,” Kassidy turned to Hotch, who was standing a few feet away, speaking with an officer. 

“Hotch?” He glanced up at her, recognizing the concern in her eyes. He glanced between her and Morgan before settling on her again, “What’s wrong, Hughes?”

“I think Morgan got cocaine in his system.”

“Well fuck,” Emily said, rather hastily behind them. 

“Get him to the ambulance,” Hotch ordered, waving down said vehicle as it was pulling up to the scene. Kassidy nodded, leading Morgan by gently pulling on his wrist, “Come on, Der, let’s go to the EMTs. They’re going to help you, okay?”

He nodded, licking his lips again, “Damn Sunshine, I don’t know what the big deal is. I feel fine- like I could run a marathon, actually,” he laughed, which sounded rather eerie to her. Hotch walked ahead of her, talking to one of the EMTs while the other opened the ambulances back doors. She turned to Morgan, “Okay, get inside. They’re going to wrap up your hand for you, so you don’t bleed all over the freaking place, okay?”

Morgan shrugged nonchalantly, stepping up into the vehicle, “Really, Sunshine, I don’t see the big deal. I feel great right now.”

“You won’t in a little bit,” she replied quietly to herself, watching the EMT inspect his hand. She had to turn away after a moment. She had seen enough blood today. 

“What’s going on?” Spencer asked, walking up to them. Emily spoke for her, “Morgan cut his hand and got cocaine in his bloodstream. It’s pretty fast-acting that way, so he’s kinda high right now.”

“Oh,” Spencer swallowed, “That’s um, not good.”

“No, but since it’s the first time he’s ever experienced this, he should be fine. Hopefully, it wasn’t very much.”

Spencer licked his lips in thought, “Cocaine’s effects appear almost immediately after a single dose and disappear within a few minutes to an hour. Small amounts of cocaine usually make the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, mentally alert, and hypersensitive to sight, sound, and touch,” he paused, glancing at Morgan, “The duration of the effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster the drug is absorbed, the more intense the resulting high and the shorter its duration. Since Morgan got a small amount into his bloodstream via the cut on his hand, his high is probably very intense right now.” He stopped, watching the EMT lay Morgan back on the stretcher inside, probably trying to control the world from spinning. “However, he’ll be back to normal in only a few minutes.”

Kassidy let out a sigh of relief, feeling herself smile a little, “That’s good. I guess as long as he doesn’t think he’s superman on this stuff, he won’t want more, right?”

“Hmm,” Spencer hummed, his right hand going to the crook of his left arm, his thumb rubbing it absentmindedly, “We should keep an eye on him. Theoretically, doing the drug one time isn’t enough to become dependant on it, but everyone is different. Tomorrow morning, after sleeping the effects off, he might be a bit moody. We’ll have to make sure he eats something and drinks plenty of water.”

Kassidy’s eyes lingered on Spencer’s hand, watching as he pushed his thumb into the pulse point of his arm. She wondered where this new nervous tic came from: she hadn’t seen him do it before. 

“This morning,” Emily joked, “it’s like, 1am here. 4am at home. I am so tired.”

“Right,” Spencer acknowledged, turning away from them. He walked to one of the Suburbans, “Me too,” he added before climbing into the back. 

Kassidy exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, sliding her hand through her hair. It felt sweaty. She was exhausted, too, her eyes stinging a little from lack of sleep. Her chest still hurt. 

“Since the EMTs are here,” Emily spoke, breaking her away from her thoughts, “you should get that bruise looked at. That way, we don’t have to go to the hospital in a few hours.”

“I suppose,” Kassidy hummed. She didn’t like being poked or prodded, especially by medical staff. But did anyone on the team like it? No. She might as well get it over with. In several hours they would be on their way home. Hopefully, with a day off after this whole fiasco. 

Stepping into the ambulance, sitting beside Morgan, she allowed the EMT to undo her vest and lift her shirt. The guy winced as his eyes scanned her bruise. 

“That bad?” She asked. His eyes met hers for a moment, “You should have had this looked at right away. It’s possible you cracked your chest plate. We won’t know unless we get an x-ray, for sure, but the way the bruise extends here,” he pointed to it and showed how it moved outwards up her collarbone, “to here, is usually a sign. I’d be surprised if you didn’t crack it.”

She let out a breathy laugh, “Great. I love my job.”

Emily was standing at the end of the ambulance; her arms crossed over her chest. She shook her head, “I told you to get it looked at. It sounds like you’re going to be stuck on desk duty for a little while.”

“I hate desk duty.”

“We all do.”

Desk duty was exactly where Kassidy was stuck for the next two weeks while she healed.

They were able to get a confession out of Mr. Hampton at about 10am the next morning. He was defeated the moment Kassidy showed him photos of his text history with the two men he had abduct the girls. His hands held his head as he stared at the floor, eyes welling with tears. Where were the tears for his _ladies_ after their deaths? Where were the tears for their loss of life? Nowhere. He was caught, and he was regretting being caught. JJ and Emily had to ask Kassidy to leave the interrogation room before she did something she, too, would regret. 

He had admitted to killing the first three girls, Megan Hickey, Nichole Mallery, and Carmilla Sanchez, and organizing the kidnapping and murder of Jasmine Hendricks and Roxanne McGee. He would be facing life in prison, yet that somehow didn’t feel like enough. Nevada was a state that still carried out the death penalty, so Kassidy wondered if the Judge would find that a fit enough end for the bastard. 

It had been three days since their arrival home, two since their last day off. Kassidy’s x-rays showed a small crack in the plate, as predicted by the EMT. They told her it would heal relatively quickly since she was young and fairly healthy, maybe a month at the most. She had to keep a tight wrap on while she was awake to help it heal and was given some pretty intense pain medication. She opted to take ibuprofen instead. She didn’t like feeling drowsy, especially when she was working. 

“Hey, Sunshine,” Morgan’s voice broke through her thoughts. She smiled up at him, realizing she had been chewing on her pen, “Hey,” she greeted. He leaned against her desk, crossing his arms over his chest, “How’re you feeling?”

She set her pen down, “Good. Better. I just can’t believe that I healed from a concussion not even a whole month ago, and now I have a broken bone in my chest. I seem to accumulate pain.”

He chuckled, patting her on the shoulder- gently, “Well, maybe if you stopped throwing yourself into dangerous situations, this wouldn’t happen.”

“Haha,” she eyed the wrap on his hand, “How about you? How are you feeling?” 

Reid had been correct about Morgan’s mood the following morning. If anyone was angrier than Kassidy that day, it was him. He snapped at almost everyone, including Hotch, but by the time they were on the plane towards home, he had calmed down. Since then, he’s been mostly himself, though Kassidy was still worried about him. She knew he could tell with how he smiled at her, flashing his pearly white teeth, “I’m doing better too. I’m feeling so good that I think we should go out for drinks tonight.”

“It’s a school night, Der,” Kassidy teased, turning her attention to the paperwork she was supposed to be doing. 

“Come on, Sunshine. It’s been quite a while since any of us have gone out. What do you say? Just a couple of drinks after dinner. I’ve meant to show you my new moves on the dance floor.” He stood up and spun around on his heels, holding out his hands to emphasize his point. She couldn’t deny the smirk that rose to her lips, “Alright, fine. You know how to convince me of anything.”

He winked, stepping backward towards his desk, “You won’t regret it, princess. Tonight we’ll do some dancing, do some drinking, maybe meet the loves of our lives?” He fell back into his chair, swiveling it around before meeting her playful gaze again. He glanced at Spencer for a moment before looking back at her, “Plus, I want to remind you that there are good things outside of this place, ya know?”

Her smile softened a little, “Yeah. I know.” She was still angry, which she didn’t hide, so she wasn’t shocked that he was well aware of her feelings towards the world right now. “Where were you thinking of going, Der?”

“How about that fun Mexican place downtown? Reid loves that place, don't you Pretty Boy?”

Spencer glanced up from his own work after hearing his name, blinking a little, "Don't I what?"

"Just say yes," Morgan pressed, spinning in his chair again. Spencer's brow rose a little, "I don't agree to anything I don't know the terms of-"

"We're going out to dinner, Spence," Kassidy informed him with a smile, "Morgan said you liked that one Mexican place? _La Rodeo Famillia_ I think it's called?"

"Oh," Spencer licked his bottom lip, leaning back in his seat. He started tapping his pen on his desk, "Are you asking me to go with you?"

"Duh. I'm going to ask the others too. We wanna get a drink and do some dancing tonight. Are you going to join us, Pretty Ricky?" Morgan gave him a pointed look. Spencer blushed under his stare, biting the inside of his cheek. Kassidy gave him a small yet reassuring smile, "You don't have to go. I don't _really_ wanna go either, but I'm being forced."

"I'll go," he answered quickly. Morgan chuckled, "Good. I'll go ask the others."

Kassidy shot a glance at Morgan as he stood, "I will only have two drinks, and maybe one or two dances. I want to be home by 10pm, okay?”

“Curfew at 10, you got it, princess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! I can't wait to see what happens next either ;)


	12. Part Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team has fun on a "school night," get a little drunk, and then leave Spencer and Kassidy alone. They also get a new case. 

The curfew had gone out the window the moment the team walked into the restaurant. 

Everyone had come out besides Hotch and Rossi, earning the two some ‘old man’ comments from Penelope and Kassidy as they were leaving the office. Hotch didn’t seem to care, while Rossi, on the other hand, cared a lot. He looked bewildered as he stared at the girls, “Who are you calling _old man_?” He had asked. Kassidy laughed before kissing him on the cheek and wishing him a good night. He pointed at her as she entered the elevator, “This conversation isn’t over, Sunshine. You better watch your mouth.” She rolled her eyes ever-so-dramatically, waving goodbye as the doors closed. 

She was now on the dancefloor, drink in hand (trying desperately not to spill it), Penelope bumping against her to the music. The two were laughing, their faces flushed and sweaty from the combination of alcohol and dancing. Morgan came out of nowhere and took the glass from Kassidy’s hand, gaining a mock glare from her, “Hey!” She shouted over the music, “Give that back, Der!”

“Nu-uh,” he tsked, holding it above her head, “You have had too many tonight. What happened to ‘only one drink and two dances?’” While he tried to sound serious, his eyes were playful. She grabbed the crook of his arm and pulled on it, trying to reach for her drink. He didn’t budge. “Jeez, you _are_ all rippling muscles, aren’t you?” She teased. 

“I told you!” Penelope shouted from someone to her left, “My brown sugar has some gaaaains,” she started to sing. 

“Alright, alright. That’s enough for both of you girls. It’s time to go.”

The groaning of the two blondes went ignored as he turned and walked back towards their table, grabbing both of their purses for them. Emily and JJ had left a while ago, leaving Spencer alone in the booth, fiddling with his phone. He looked up with a tentative smile at the three of them as they approached, “Did you convince them it’s time to go home?” He asked Morgan. 

“Convinced? No. Forced? Yes,” Morgan chuckled, handing a bright yellow purse to Kassidy. She giggled a little as she took it, turning to show it to Penelope, “OMG Penny, look- this is the purse you bought me! Remember when you gave it to me during my first week here?” Penelope giggled in reply, taking her purse off of Morgan’s shoulder, “I do! You wore something yellow every day that week, so I knew I HAD to get it for you! Yellow is _sooo_ your color!”

“Alright ladies,” Morgan interrupted, placing an arm around both of their shoulders, “Let’s get you home. We have work in the morning, remember?”

This lead to more groans, Kassidy dropping her head to his shoulder as they walked, “This,” she pointed at him, “is why I don’t go out on school nights. You’re a bad influence.”

“Hey, I didn’t buy your third or your fourth drink for you. You did that,” he countered, pointing back at her. Penelope frowned, “But you bought the first two. You lead us down the path of self-destruction.” Spencer was right behind them, and Kassidy could swear she heard him chuckle. 

“Yeah, what she said,” she agreed. They were standing on the sidewalk now, somehow. Weren’t they just inside? She shook her head a little and pressed her palms to her eyes, trying to will herself sober. Tomorrow was going to suck. Spencer elbowed her side softly, causing her to peer up at him with a small smile. 

“Come on, Sunshine, do you need me to call you a cab?” Morgan asked after placing Penelope in the front seat of his car. She smiled, shaking her head, “Nah, I can call my own. Thanks tho, Der.” She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek, “Tonight was fun.”

“Next time, we’ll go out on a Friday night,” he instructed her, patting her cheek. She giggled and pushed his hand away, earning a bright smile from him as he turned and walked around to the driver’s side of his car. As he drove away, he waved back at the last two remaining team members. 

Kassidy let out a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. Her buzz was starting to wear off a little, but she still felt the warmth of the alcohol in her system. Her head was a bit fuzzy, inhibitions lowered. She hummed. 

“Are you able to get a ride home?” Spencer’s voice broke through the fog. She blinked her eyes open and glanced at him. He was so cute. The yellow streetlights illuminated his frame, casting shadows across his face in a way she hadn’t seen before. She noticed a tiny amount of stubble along his jawline- which was, well, kind of hot. His hair was messy, like always, baby hairs unyielding to any amount of patting down he had tried to do throughout the night. A few longer strands hung in and around his face, framing it in that just-so-perfect way that people paid stylists for. But for him, it was natural. Everything about him was genuine, and just _so freaking cute_. Why was he so freaking adorable? It wasn’t fair.

He leaned towards her a little, causing her breath to hitch. What was he doing? His hand came up and brushed a wayward curl from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Her cheeks grew hot and not from the alcohol. 

“Kassidy?” He asked, his eyes searching hers, “How drunk are you?”

“Huh?” She blinked. 

“I’ve been talking to you, but you haven’t heard a word I’ve been saying. Do you need me to help you get home? I don’t think I trust you not to fall asleep in a cab.” He leaned back again, his hands going into his pockets. 

She bit her lower lip, “Oh I… I was spacing out.”

He chuckled, a sound that she realized she wanted to hear again and again, “I can tell. Come on, let’s take the metro. I think your place is close to mine, right?”

She nodded dumbly and just followed him as he turned away and started towards the subway. She felt kind of like a puppy just following its owner because it didn’t know what else to do. 

After maybe 20 feet, he slowed his pace and reached for her hand, taking it in his. She almost froze from how surprised she was. Once again, Spencer Reid, the germaphobe, was touching her hand. Not just touching it, but _holding_ it. He had interlaced their fingers, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing on the back of her knuckles. He must have noticed her shock because he spoke up, “I don’t want to leave you behind accidentally,” he explained quickly, “I take longer strides than you. This makes sense, seeing as you’re about a foot shorter than me in height, so in comparison, that makes your legs shorter as well. You probably walk at about the same pace as a 12-year-old-”

“Hey!” She puffed out her cheeks, “I am not 12 years old.”

His face turned red, “I didn’t mean-” he sighed, rubbing his free hand on the back of his neck, “I just mean, I walk faster than you. That’s all. Even though it’s late, there will be people on the metro, so I don’t want to lose you.”

“Aw,” she poked his side, making him cringe, “You’re sweet.”

“You’re drunk,” he argued, “I’m worried you’ll sit down somewhere and fall asleep.” And yet, somehow, even while drunk (like he pointed out), she still noticed the small smile that played its way onto his lips. That familiar warm feeling in her heart when she was around him started to turn into something else. It moved down towards her stomach, fluttering a little. Butterflies. 

She cleared her throat and stared down at her feet, willing those butterflies to go away. He was right; she was drunk. Well, more like strongly buzzed at this point, but still. These thoughts and feelings weren’t real because an intoxicated mind created them. After sleeping this night off, she would go back to normal. Right? Right.

She must have lost some time after that because the next thing she knew, they were on the metro. The train car swayed as it moved forward, sending an abrupt shock of pain through her chest. She gasped and placed her hand on it gingerly. Spencer was suddenly in front of her, his eyes scanning her over, “What’s wrong? Is it your chest?”

“Y-yeah,” she choked out, “I guess I didn’t take my pain medication at dinner. It’s worn off now. Flip-flop.” She held her hand there for a moment longer, waiting for the pain to subside. It did, eventually. When she opened her eyes again, he was still there, worry written all over his face. She forced a smile, “I’ll take some when I get home; you don’t need to baby me, Spencer.”

He frowned, the lines under his eyes more pronounced. That wasn’t a good look for him, “I’m not babying you. But, I will make sure you take your medication when I drop you off. I think you’re 6 or 7 blocks away from me, so it’s no trouble.”

She wanted to argue but knew better than to do so. She could never win an argument with a literal genius. “Fine,” she started, “but then you go home and go to bed too. We gotta be at work in…” She pulled her phone out and looked at the time, “Oof, five hours? Fuck.”

Spencer rose both his eyebrows at her language.

“I will never let Derek convince me to go out on a work night ever again,” she groaned. 

“You said that last time too,” Spencer replied. She scrunched up her nose at him, “This time, I mean it.” His lips curled into a smile, “If you say so.”

When the alarm went off, it was too soon. Kassidy let out a groan as she slapped her hand around on the nightstand, trying to find the offending noise-maker. It was too loud. After a couple more missed fumblings, she finally hit her alarm clock. The second the blaring stopped, she sighed in relief, turning onto her back and fluttering her eyes open. 

Thankfully the light didn’t bother her too much, and she didn’t seem to have a headache. At least not yet. Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, letting out a squeaky yawn. Something about opening her mouth that wide always released a small squeak from the back of her throat. It was embarrassing when she did it in public because it still drew attention. Here in her bedroom, however, she didn’t even seem to notice. 

She turned her attention to her nightstand once more. Her phone was plugged in, and beside it was a glass of water and some pills. Ibuprofen and Vitamin D, she realized.

A smile quickly replaced her surprised frown. Did Spencer put her to bed? No, she remembered changing into her PJ’s on her own. She must have passed out soon after that, though, while he was still in her apartment. How sweet of him to get her some water and medications. That was something he would do, always thinking of how he could be helpful. It made her chest warm. Hopefully, he made it home okay too. A 6-7 block walk wasn’t enjoyable to do at 3am. 

After taking the pills he laid out for her, downing the entire glass of water, and forcing herself to get dressed in something at least semi-decent, she picked up her phone. There were two texts. 

_Message from: Spencer Reid  
Hey, just letting you know I got home safe as you asked. Sleep well._

_Message from: Derek Morgan  
I hope you got home safe, Sunshine. See you at work tomorrow._

She found herself smiling again. She didn’t remember getting from the metro to her apartment, but somewhere in that period, she must have made Spencer promise her he would text her when he got home. That was a habit of hers that she picked up from her mom. 

Glancing herself over in the mirror, pulling her hair up into a (very) messy bun, she figured she looked okay enough for today. Her yellow cami was a little wrinkled, but that wasn’t a big deal. She wore some black leggings with a matching yellow skirt, slipping on some yellow heels (a word she used loosely, considering the heels were maybe an inch and a half tall). She was going to be on desk duty anyway, whether a case came in or not. She didn’t _like_ being tied to her desk, but she didn’t mind either. 

That was something she was generally accustomed to since it was all she used to do. Being in the field was only a recent habit, one that Hotch was moving her into slowly. In about two months, she would have been in the BAU for a full year, and she’ll finally be receiving her proper credentials- once she passed all of the tests, of course. Which she knows she will. She passed all the prerequisites with flying colors, after all. 

One last look over, and she grabbed her bag, hurrying to the living room. If she got to the metro early, she could stop by Starbucks on her way to the office. She was already craving a Venti iced Caramel Macchiato-

She paused. 

In the corner of her eye, she spotted a glint of light. On her coffee table was a wine glass, perched just barely too close to the edge, a small amount of red wine staining the bottom. She walked over and picked it up, examining it. There’s no way she had a glass of wine last night, right? And Spencer didn’t drink, as far she was aware. Not that she would have cared if he served himself a glass after putting her to bed, but it was out-of-character for him to do something like that. Did she leave it out after her last wine night? She walked it over to the sink and set it in, turning on the tap to let it soak while she was at work. 

That was the second time in her recent memory where she found a wine glass in a place it shouldn’t be. And both times were during a night where she could hardly remember anything. Maybe she was getting into the bottle to self-soothe? She wasn’t sure. 

Walking back to her coffee table, she noted all the postcards that were scattered upon it. She and Emily had started this habit of picking out postcards for each other when they traveled, writing something fun or inspiring on them, and mailing them while they were still on the case. That way, they had something human and colorful waiting for them when they got home. Kassidy had bought a photo book a few months back that she was putting all of her cards in for safekeeping. She hadn’t touched it in a little while, however, since the last couple of cases had been a bit hard on her. 

But among her mess of postcards (one of them with Emily’s handwriting reading “The sunset in Montana is unlike anything I’ve ever seen! I took a photo to show you when you leave the hospital. We should start our own sunset blog someday.”) was a small wine stain on the wood. She frowned. It looked like someone drew a heart in the wine. 

That… might be something she would do, she reasoned. She recalled feeling a bit enamored with Spencer last night. Just the memory of him standing under the streetlight made her blush.

No, stop it. Stop it now, Kass. She shook her head. Maybe she should dump out her wine? This was ridiculous. And she knew she couldn’t mention this to Hotch because he would tell her the same thing. “Hughes, you’re drinking too much wine,” he would say. She could hear his voice loud and clear in her mind. 

Yeah. She sighed, making a mental note to clean up her postcards and wine mess when she got home later. She was going to be late to work if she still wanted Starbucks.

“What. Is. Your. Hangover. Cure?” Penelope was practically hanging off of Kassidy’s arm, sunglasses hiding her bloodshot eyes. Kassidy restrained herself from grinning, taking a sip of that oh-so-delicious iced caramel macchiato that she didn’t wait in line for 20 minutes for, making her 34 minutes late this morning. Instead, she hummed, “I suppose it’s wine. I found an empty wine glass this morning, so I think I had a glass before passing out last night. Also, I drank a whole glass of water when I woke up and more water when I got to Starbucks. Oh, and this,” she wiggled her iced coffee, the ice shaking against the plastic. 

Penelope whined, “Why didn’t you get me anything?”

Kassidy gasped, “Penny, how little do you think of me? Of course, I got you something! You just haven’t been to your little Hobbit hole yet this morning.” With that, Penelope’s eyes widened excitedly, “Did you get my favorite?”

“A vanilla frappuccino with two shots, mocha drizzle, and lots of sprinkles? Yes, yes I did.” She was almost knocked off her feet with force. Penelope threw her arms around her, planting a (kind of wet) kiss right on her cheek before releasing her and hurrying to her lair, “Thank you, sweetness! I will never doubt your love for me again!” She called as she disappeared down the hallway, right past Morgan.

He chuckled, eyes dancing with mischief, “And what exactly did you do to cheer up the grumpiest woman I had ever seen this morning?” He sat down in his chair with a ‘whump,’ spinning it in a full circle before locking eyes with Kassidy. She shrugged, taking a sip from her coffee, “I got her Starbucks.”

“Ah, I should have known. With extra sprinkles?”

“Duh. The barista looked at me like I was crazy.”

“If they don’t, then it’s not enough sprinkles.”

Kassidy giggled and set her bag down on the floor, humming a tune to herself, “I got everyone a coffee. I didn’t want them to melt though, so they’re in the fridge.” Morgan grinned, standing a bit too quickly, “Well, why didn’t you say so, Sunshine?” He was in the break-room at record speeds.

“Shush, it’s only because I knew I was going to be late this morning. I want to be on Hotch’s good side.” That was partly true, but she also honestly loved spoiling her friends. And it was hot out, being the tail-end of June in Virginia. Morgan reappeared with a mocha frappuccino, no whipped cream, made with almond milk. He smirked at her, “If you got me a regular one, I would have made today my cheat day.”

“Last night was your cheat day,” she countered, finally sitting down at her desk with a sigh. There was so much paperwork to do. Why couldn’t she read 20,000 words a minute like Reid?

“Every day can be a cheat day if you work off the calories,” he retorted, raising his eyebrows. “Which reminds me, are we still running this Saturday? If there isn’t a case?”

She groaned, leaning back in her seat, “Uh, I guess. Now I _hope_ you get a case. Then I can sleep in on Saturday as normal people do.”

“We aren’t normal people, princess,” he chuckled. 

Reid and JJ appeared in the doorway, both looking slightly frazzled. Kassidy rose her eyebrows, “Good morning, ladies,” she greeted, much to Spencer’s dismay, “you two didn’t even drink as much as me. Actually, Spencer, you didn’t drink at all.”

“Hush, Hughes,” JJ lovingly spat, collapsing into Emily’s chair, “I’m not as young as you anymore, okay?” 

“Did you just call yourself old?” Kassidy gasped, putting her straw to her lips and sucking on it in anticipation. JJ rolled her eyes, “No, I’m not old. Just older. Don’t make me hit you. Besides, Henry wasn’t feeling well last night, so I didn’t get much sleep.”

Spencer took his seat with a thud, leaning back and rubbing his eyes. He didn’t say anything.

Kassidy smirked, “You wouldn’t hit me. Not after I got you coffee this morning.”

JJ’s eyes lit up a little, “You did?”

“Uh-huh. In the fridge. I didn’t want it to melt.”

“You are my savior,” JJ said, almost earnestly, as she headed to the breakroom. She returned with two coffees, her own and Reid’s. Kassidy smiled to herself when she saw JJ take her first sips and sigh in happiness. She had gotten her an iced caramel macchiato too, but with skim milk and extra caramel (she knew they balanced each other out, but JJ once said she liked the taste of skim milk, like a weirdo). Reid’s drink was an iced white mocha with extra whipped cream, and dark mocha drizzle swirled along the cup walls. 

Spencer gave her a shy smile as he tried his own drink, his smile growing after a moment. He didn’t need to say anything; she already knew he loved it. All sugar and all caffeine. She noted that the dark circles under his eyes looked kind of bad this morning, and she felt a small sting in her heart. It was _kind of_ her fault he got home so late. She would have to apologize to him later about it.

“This makes things better,” JJ hummed happily, “I forgive you, Kass.” 

“I’m glad,” she replied, “Because I just saw Hotch get off the phone, and I think you guys have a case.”

On cue, their boss opened his door and stepped out of his office, looking over the bullpen at his team. “Be ready to meet me in the conference room in ten minutes,” he said after noticing their obnoxiously large and sugary coffees. There was a round of “Yessir’s.” 

“Oh Hotch, I got you a coffee too,” Kassidy stood and hurried to the break room, coming back with the last remaining iced coffee of the day. She carried it over to her Unit Chief, smiling the whole way. He took it with an amused smirk, “I don’t tend to like iced coffee,” he started to say. She nodded, “I know, but I thought you should try this. It’s an almond Roca flavor- I think it’s new. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to drink it, you know.”

He took a sip, his face not revealing whether or not he _did_ like it. Even if he hated it, he would drink the whole thing. She knew that. He was Hotch, ever the gentleman.“Thank you, Hughes. I’ll see you in the conference room in 8 minutes.” 

Honestly, she would rather get started on her paperwork for the day, seeing as there was a fairly large stack waiting for her on her desk. With a sigh, she just went straight to the round table instead, taking her usual seat. Soon after, the rest of the team joined her, Rossi coming up behind her and placing a kiss on the top of her head, “That’s a thank you for the coffee this morning,” he spoke quietly. She grinned up at him, “You’re welcome. You’re the only one who got hot coffee today because I know Hell would have to freeze over for you to try iced coffee.”

“Ah,” he tsked, “There is no reason to ruin a good thing. A dark roast is meant to be savored as it is, without any cream or cups of sugar added to it,” his eyes landed on Spencer as he came in with his hands holding his iced white mocha. They locked eyes for a second, Spencer blinking, “What?”

“Nothing, kid. Sit down,” Rossi chuckled. Kassidy tried to hide her smile, immediately pushing the toe of her foot against the side of Spencer’s the second he was seated. He pushed back. This was a little game that they had started during her second month in the BAU. She didn’t remember who started it (he probably did), but she liked always being close enough to him to play it. 

“Where’s Emily?” JJ asked, taking her seat on the other side of Spencer. Morgan shrugged, tossing his trash in a nearby bin, “No clue. She left with you last night.”

“It’s not like her to be late,” Kassidy muttered, pulling out her phone to check the time. If Emily hadn’t come to work yet, she would be about an hour late at this point. 

“She’s already in Los Angeles,” Hotch informed them, walking around the table. Garcia came in behind him, her heels clicking and mouth sucking the last of her frappuccino out of the cup. She popped her lips off the straw and tossed the cup at the trash, totally missing. Morgan smirked and picked it up for her. She pretended she didn’t notice. 

“Okay, so right into the case then,” She started, turning on the remote. A slideshow of three different women showed up.

“These three women have been found during the last couple of weeks, all drowned and then wrapped up tight in plastic. The weird part is that there’s a small square patch of skin missing from the bottom of their feet.” Penelope shivered. 

“So, that’s some kind of signature,” Kassidy mutters, glancing down at her tablet to see better photos of the crime scenes. 

Hotch tapped on the file in his hand, “It gets weirder. They were all drowned in Methanol.”

“What’s Methanol?” Morgan asked, leaning against the wall.

“Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, is a non-drinking type of alcohol, which is mostly used to create fuel, solvents, and antifreeze. It’s colorless, volatile, flammable, and poisonous for human consumption. Ingesting as little as .34 ounces of pure methanol can cause permanent blindness. One ounce is potentially fatal, and the median lethal dose is 3.4 ounces. So, drowning in it would be torture,” Reid replied, barely glancing up from his tablet. 

“No way you didn’t look that up,” Morgan jested. Spencer looked up at him, “No? Have you not looked into the types of poisons kids can get into?”

“No?” Morgan and JJ both responded, “Have you?”

“Well yeah. After JJ had Henry, I looked up what to do if a child happens to ingest poison. Since methanol is in antifreeze, which is a common household poison, I looked into it. Which, by the way, if a child were to ingest that, you would want to force them to vomit right away.” He nodded as he spoke. Kassidy giggled at the team’s confused reactions. Spencer frowned. She nudged his foot with hers again, “You’re such a good Godfather.” That brought a smile back to his face, and he nudged her back.

“Okay, so our UNSUB wants his victims to suffer, and he has the space and privacy to do so,” Hotch concluded. He looked at Kassidy, “I know I said I wanted you to stay home for a while, but I think it’s a good idea to have you come with us to L.A.,” he paused when her eyes lit up, placing up a hand, “But, you won’t be going into the field. You’ll be working on victimology from the station, got it?”

She nodded, “Sir, yes, sir!” Thank God she wouldn’t be stuck in Quantico while her team was in the City of Angels. 

“Alright, wheels up in 30.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys again for reading!! I love where this story is going <3 I wanna keep writing so bad, but I need at least an hour break lmao. 
> 
> Also, I don't have anyone who proofs my stories for me, so I'm considering looking for someone. If you're interested, PM me on tumblr maybe? SSA-KassidyHughes


	13. Part Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team comes up with their profile on the Unsub, and Kassidy finds herself thinking of Spencer more often than not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey look this series isn't dead! Woo!  
> I am so sorry that I took forever to add a new chapter. Will I take forever again? Probably!  
> Now we're getting to the good stuff, folks!
> 
> also I love Kassidy she's my bby

By the time the team had arrived in Los Angeles, another body had been found. It was challenging to dwell too much on the pain making itself known in Kassidy’s chest when she knew the UNSUB would soon have another victim. This UNSUB was moving rather quickly. 

So, drinking her third (maybe fourth?) cup of coffee since arriving, she poured over the information they had so far. The victimology was all over the place; these women had never met once in their lives. The only thing tying them together was their age range and generally attractive appearance. Otherwise, there was nothing. 

She glanced at their financial histories once more, thinking back on the Montana case from a few weeks ago. Those girls were all connected via a coffee shop they went to regularly. Maybe these women also had a place like that? 

Hmm, no. It didn’t seem so. With a frustrated groan, she leaned back, pushing the heels of her palms into her eyes. Her nerves were still a little shot from the plane ride here. It probably didn’t help her heart rate with the amount of caffeine she’d been ingesting for the day, but she tried to ignore it. 

It was just odd, though, how even after the plane was in the sky, she was still so anxious. That had never happened to her before; she _wasn’t_ a nervous flyer. But the whole trip to L.A. from Virginia had shredded through her nerves. Thankfully, she was able to keep it under control with reading, but it was still bothering her. 

She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She could feel eyes on her but tried to ignore them. Spencer had been with her all day so far, doing what he did best: setting up a geographical profile on the map. She heard him on the phone with Penelope sometime ago, asking about taxis in the area, but had since been silent. The two always worked well together in the silence of their work. She liked knowing he was there. 

However, when his eyes didn’t leave her, she finally cocked her head towards him and met his gaze. Even though he was staring at her, it seemed more like he was staring _through_ her, that lost in thought look in his eyes. He was chewing on his pen, which brought out a small smirk at the corners of her mouth. For such a germaphobe-adjacent man, who wouldn’t even shake hands, he always seemed to have something in his mouth. 

“What are you thinking about?” She asked, breaking his concentration. He blinked, pulling the pen away from his mouth and clearing his throat, “Oh uh, I was calculating how many rogue taxi services might be in L.A.”

She turned her chair towards him, “Really? How do you calculate something like that?”

“Oh, well,” he started, his hands already moving on their own to emphasize his words, “L.A. is 498.3 square miles, and within certain districts, there’s always going to be a certain number of cab drivers, all for different companies. Now,” he took out a blue marker and circled an area on the map, “Rossi told me that the M.E. found chloroform in the victim’s lungs. It wasn’t on their face, so they most likely breathed it in in a gas form. The only vehicles that could lock a person in and, say, gas the victim, would be police cars and taxis. Ruling out the police, that leaves us with taxis,” he pointed to the area he had circled, “But I had Garcia look at our victims’ last known whereabouts, and there weren’t any working taxis in the area at those times. So that leaves us with unregistered taxi drivers.” 

Kassidy nodded, a small smile on her features as he spoke. He was so animated when he explained what was going on in that mind of his. 

“So, how do you calculate how many unregistered vehicles there are, then?” She asked once more. 

“Oh, right,” he started writing numbers on the whiteboard, “For the timeframe we’re working with, his cab would be running in the afternoon, where he then keeps his victim overnight before dumping them the next day. During this time of the day, approximately 2,364 cabs are working. For there to have been no cabs in the areas where the victims were last seen, that leaves us with approximately,” he paused, doing a mental calculation. Kassidy just watched, noting how he ran his tongue over his bottom lip in thought. He wrote the number 52 on the board, “52 unregistered vehicles in the city at the given time. In the area we’re looking at, the number would be closer to 12.”

“And, where did you get that number?” She asked, pointing to the board. He looked at it, then back to her, “Based on the population of the city, the number of working taxi drivers, and how many of said population would be in this area at the given time.” He answered her question as though it were the most simple thing in the world. She shook her head slowly, “Wow. Well, okay then, Spencer. I guess we’ll have to look into those 12 drivers, huh?”

She turned back to her work, a small frown making its appearance. 

“What’s wrong?” Spencer asked, walking over to her. 

“Oh,” she pushed some hair behind her ear, “It’s just that I had been trying to find the common theme between all these women, and it turns out they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A rogue taxi driver who happened upon them was the only thing that connected them.”

Spencer frowned a little, his lips forming a tight line. He ran his hand through his hair, some strands falling into his face, “Well, something about them was special to him. I’m sure you’ll be able to connect those dots.”

She sighed, closing one of the files, “I hope so. For their family’s sake, anyway. And to stop this guy. Based on what you told me, I assume we’re almost ready to deliver the profile?”

“Almost. I think Emily and JJ are meeting with a potential witness. They should be back soon.”

“Great,” she pulled her legs onto the chair, crisscrossing them to be more comfortable, “The sooner we go home, the better. I’m craving those donuts from that shop down the street from the office. You know the one?” She dipped her head a little to look up at him. He smiled, taking a seat in the chair beside her, “Yeah, that sounds good right now. Maybe when we get back, we can get some as a treat,” he mused. 

She found herself studying him again. Always studying him. He had his chin rested on his knuckles, reaching over the table to pick up his coffee. His skin looked more colorful as of late, she noted, the dark spots under his eyes not as dark. Was he sleeping better? She hoped so. The idea of him being wracked with insomnia made her heart hurt. He was such a valuable part of the team and such a great friend. She couldn’t imagine him being alone at the end of every day, unable to sleep after the things they’ve seen. The things he’d seen; things she had only read about in files. His history was darker than she really knew. 

He was looking at her again, his coffee cup in his hands. Eventually, he averted his eyes, clearing his throat, “So, what have you found out about our victims?”

She blinked before glancing back at the papers that were spread all over the table, “Not much, actually. They all have different backgrounds, work in different careers, and live in different neighborhoods. Again, nothing connects them except for the fact that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” She huffed, blowing some hair from her face, “And I hate that. I hate that I can’t see a proper connection. I hate that there’s a serial killer using chloroform gas to kidnap his victims, then drowns them in Methanol, and we can’t see the reason why? Does he do it for the fun of it? Because he can?” She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, resting her chin in her hands, “And where the heck does someone get that much methanol to begin with? How does someone-”

She paused, her eyes growing owlishly large. Spencer arched an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. 

“The-the patch of missing skin,” she uncrossed her legs and stood up, walking to the board with the photos of the victims, “all of the victims had a square piece of skin cut from the bottoms of their foot, right? That’s what you do when you’re taking samples, like in science class. Methanol can be used in science class- what if he thinks he’s a scientist? He’s experimenting on them.” She looked back at Reid, who was following her with his eyes. He stood up, “What is his experiment?” He asked. 

She looked back at the photos of the women, pursing her lips into a tight line, “I don’t know. I guess that’s what we have to find out, huh?”

The team gathered around the round table, going over the evidence gathered during their short time in L.A. It was getting late, the sun nearly setting over the horizon, when Kassidy let out a yawn. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and glanced around the table, having zoned out approximately five minutes ago.

JJ and Morgan had left to get more coffee, leaving Rossi and Hotch standing by the door and discussing the profile. Reid was writing ridiculously fast in a notebook, and Emily seemed to be staring into space. 

Kassidy watched her friend for a moment before leaning over and poking her in the side, eliciting a small jump from her. Emily glared at her after slapping her hand away, “Kass, don’t,” she warned. Kassidy smiled playfully, leaning towards her, “What’s on your mind, Em? I haven’t really seen you today. First, you fly here before the rest of us, and then you’ve been out in the field all day while I’ve been stuck here.”

“You’re stuck here because you’re still healing,” she reminded her, her eyes flitting towards her chest before meeting her eyes again, “which reminds me, how are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Kassidy replied with a yawn, leaning forwards just a bit more and resting her cheek on Emily’s shoulder. Emily tried not to smile, but Kassidy could feel the tension ease out of her body, “You ignored my question,” she pressed, “about what’s on your mind. What’re you thinking about?”

Emily hummed, lifting her arm and wrapping it around Kassidy’s shoulder. She started idly playing with the ends of her friend’s hair, watching it fall between her fingers as she thought. Kassidy didn’t mind. 

“I was just thinking about the case,” she finally replied. There was a small hint of sadness at the edges of her voice, though Kassidy couldn’t quite place where it was coming from. She realized that her colleague didn’t want to talk about it; otherwise, she would have said. But, it bothered her that _something_ was upsetting Emily.

“Did you find any postcards while you were out?” She asked instead, peering up at her through her eyelashes. Emily’s shoulders seemed to relax a little more as she smiled, “Yeah, I did. I found a really fun one, actually. I already dropped it off at the post office before returning to the station.”

Kassidy shifted a little, trying to pull their chairs closer together, “I hope I have time to go find one tomorrow. Hotch has me under house arrest here, though. Maybe I’ll stop at a gas station on the way from the hotel tomorrow?” she mused mostly to herself. She felt Emily’s hand move to the top of her head, petting her hair slowly, “You know I don’t always expect a card in return, Kass.”

“Yeah, but I like sending them to you too,” she replied quickly, trying to hide another yawn. She felt Emily’s shoulder shake as she chuckled, “Alright, just don’t get into trouble with Hotch over our little tradition.”

“Nah, it’s worth getting in trouble over. I know you like getting mail when we get home, just like I do.” She knew she wasn’t wrong because she had seen the way Emily’s eyes lit up when talking about the postcards. She had her favorites framed on her desk and often showed them off when asked about them. Penelope once asked about getting postcards, too; Kassidy noticed a couple in her lair about two weeks later. She was happy that she found something that made Emily happy. 

Emily started humming a tune, soft and quiet, as she ran her fingers through Kassidy’s hair. The younger agent found herself closing her eyes, letting out a contented sigh, and smiling. She loved moments like this, where she felt safe and loved. Emily always had a way of reminding her that she was just that: safe and loved. Especially after their very first case together when Kassidy joined the BAU. 

It was Kassidy’s first time being in the field, _ever_. When she was apart of the Las Vegas division of the ETI, she had only interrogated suspects. In the BAU, she was expected to carry a gun. Thankfully, she had passed her qualifications to carry relatively quickly, so she would never have to be in the field without one. And, thankfully, she didn’t have to shoot anyone on her first case. But she did watch the Unsub attack the victim, which was rather distressing. In the end, everyone survived, but Kassidy still felt like she had failed. Maybe if she shot at the Unsub sooner, she could have kept the victim from being hurt? 

Emily invited her over, and they stayed up all night, watching movies and crying (well, Kassidy was crying). Emily told her about all the times she, too, thought she didn’t do enough. Together they came to terms with the fact that sometimes one has to make a split-second decision when put in those positions. They couldn’t change the past, no matter how hard they tried. 

Kassidy opened her eyes, peering over the conference room. She spotted Spencer watching her. The moment their eyes met, he glanced down at his notebook again, continuing his writing. She found herself smiling, despite not knowing why. 

“Alright kids, bedtime,” Rossi announced. Kassidy felt Emily sigh, shifting a little to make the younger agent move. She did so with an exaggerated huff. 

“I’m not ready for bed,” Emily replied, standing and stretching her arms above her head. Kassidy heard her shoulder crack and winced a little, “Me neither,” she added. 

Rossi eyed the two of them, “It’s not a suggestion; it’s an order. We can’t do much with what we have tonight, so we should all get some rest. Tomorrow we’re delivering the profile.”

That gained Spencer’s attention, the man peering up at Rossi from his notes, “We have enough for a profile?” He asked. 

Hotch made one of those unreadable faces that Kassidy came to understand meant _“I don’t want anyone to know what I’m thinking,”_ but he only did them when he had bad news to share. He ran his hand through his hair, “Sort of. A partial profile, but it’s better than nothing. We’ll have more once we’ve all slept, I’m sure.”

Spencer didn’t look convinced. Kassidy didn’t feel convinced either but stood up anyhow. She was exhausted. “Okay, dads one and two,” she said with a yawn, “We’ll go to bed. Right, Spence?” She smiled at him, watching as his cheeks grew pink in color as he looked away from her. Did she say something?

“Alright,” he finally said, setting the notebook down, “The average adult should be getting around 7 to 9 hours of sleep at night to function at their best,” he started to say. Emily laughed, picking up her bag and moving towards the doorway, “With this job? Yeah right. And you, Reid? You hardly sleep more than 4 hours a night, I’ll wager. It’s all that coffee you drink.”

Kassidy fell in step beside Spencer as they headed out of the station, both of them holding the straps of their corresponding bookbags. She giggled a little at Emily’s words, “You do drink a lot of coffee. Maybe you should switch to decaf halfway through the day? I bet you’d sleep better.”

He hummed in acknowledgment, holding open a door for her, “Maybe. You don’t sleep well either, Kassidy,” he pointed out, “And you don’t drink nearly as much coffee as I do.”

“Weeell,” she pouted, “I just have insomnia. You should still cut the caffeine.”

He didn’t reply, simply smiling as they piled into the car with Rossi in the driver’s seat. Kassidy yawned again, leaning against the door and looking out the window. She could feel the heat from Spencer’s body being beside her, and her stomach fluttered. Which was ridiculous because it wasn’t like he was holding her hand or leaning on her or anything. He was just _there_ in her space. No big deal. 

Yet her heart said otherwise.

“We wanted to get a preliminary profile to you as quickly as we could because of the type of Unsub we’re dealing with,” Hotch began, his voice ever stern as he addressed the bullpen. Kassidy stood to the side, rocking on her heels a little as she watched her team deliver the profile. She didn’t usually partake, but she always loved seeing how they worked together, how their minds melded to create the perfect image of who they were looking for.

“We believe he’s a white male driving an unlicensed taxi,” Rossi continued, pointing to an image of a taxi that was posted on the board behind him, “he uses this vehicle to abduct women.”

“His victims have been women between the ages of 20 and 40,” Spencer added, using his hands to emphasize his words. Kassidy loved watching him talk. “Add that to his use of methanol for experimentation and the aerosolization of chloroform; we have a very intelligent Unsub.”

Emily spoke up next, looking over the officers in the precinct, “Which is not unusual. True psychopaths often have above-average intelligence. This type of Unsub will not have injected himself into the investigation. He will not be following it closely, either. In fact, he may not even be concerned about whether or not he’s leaving any evidence.”

One of the officers spoke up, raising their hand like a student in a classroom, “How come we can’t find him? If he’s not trying to clean up, then why haven’t we found his fingerprints or anything that could lead us to him yet?”

Hotch replied, his arms crossed over his chest, “Because of what he’s doing to them. He’s submerging them in liquid, which is washing away any and all forensic evidence.”

Kassidy leaned back against the desk she had been standing in front of, pulling out her cell phone to note a picture of a puppy that Penny texted to her. She smiled to herself, typing a quick reply.

_Message to: Penny_  
OMG, it’s so cute. Thanx Pen. We’re giving the profile now. I’ll text you back in a little bit.

As she slid her phone back in her pocket, she noticed Spencer was watching her again. She gave him a little wave, seeing his blush as he waved back. 

The team broke away soon after that, going back into the conference room. Kassidy plopped herself down at the table, picking up a pen and playing with it between her fingers, “Okay so, we’re looking for an antisocial creepy guy who kidnaps women and drowns them in extremely toxic liquid, and then takes a 2x2 square of their skin off the bottom of their foot?”

Emily raised an eyebrow, bringing her coffee to her lips before replying, “Yes. You have something to add, Kass?”

She swiveled in her chair, still fiddling with the pen, “I’m just wondering what he’s doing with the skin. Like, methanol is used in science class to strip chemicals off of other things. So what is he taking? Their sweat?”

Rossi made a face at her, “That’s gross, _il mio sole_.” She just smiled up at him, “Tell that to the Unsub.” He shook his head and sat down opposite of her, tapping his fist on the table, “Let’s brainstorm a little, hmm? What type of chemicals could you take from a person?”

“That sentence doesn’t make sense,” Spencer piped up from the board, his eyes studying his map, “You can’t take chemicals from a person.”

“Okay, genius,” Morgan argued, “What could you do?”

Kassidy giggled at the face Spencer made towards Morgan, spinning in the chair idly, “Yeah, genius,” she teased. 

Spencer huffed, eyeing them both, “Hypothetically, you could strip cells from a person’s skin that way. Their sweat? Not if you’re dipping them in methanol. It would be destroyed in the chemical.” He hums, looking back at the map again, his eyebrows knitting together in thought, “What about scent?”

“Scent?” Emily asked, having been playing with a rubber band she found from God-who-knows-where. Kassidy eyed it warily, wondering if she was about to be on the other end of the said rubber band. 

“Yes, what if he was trying to take their natural scent and make something from it? In AP Chemistry, we would sometimes use methanol to strip shampoo from hair. It would result in the lab smelling of too much coconut,” Spencer supplied, his nose crinkling at the memory. Kassidy stopped her spinning, “Okay, let’s lead with that. He’s trying to keep their scent, but why?”

“Scent is the strongest tie to memory,” Spencer replied, looking at her, “When you see, hear, touch, or taste something, that sensory information goes through the thalamus first- the brain’s relay station. The thalamus then sends that information to the hippocampus-”

“Which is responsible for memory,” Kassidy interrupted, nodding, “yeah, we know.”

“I didn’t,” Morgan mumbled, earning an elbow to the side from Kassidy. He chuckled a little. 

“Right, but with smells, it’s different. Scent bypasses the thalamus and goes straight to the brain’s smell center, known as the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the hippocampus, thus resulting in a stronger sense of nostalgia when you smell something familiar.”

Rossi stood quietly, leaving the room without saying anything (but not without kissing Kassidy on the top of her head first, gaining a smile from the young agent in return). Spencer continued without a beat, “So let’s assume the Unsub smells something on the victims that reminds him of something important. He’s trying to collect this scent.”

Kassidy nodded, “Do you think it’s their perfume?”

Emily scoffed, “Not likely. He’d just go buy the dang perfume if that was the case.”

“He’s a psychopath,” Morgan reminded her with a pointed look, “He wouldn’t care about buying the perfume. Maybe the memory is from childhood, so he’s desperate to have it any way he can get it.”

Hotch entered the room, looking straight at Morgan and Emily, “We have a possible sighting on the Unsub. An unlicensed taxi driver just went off on a potential customer. She’s waiting for us to interview her. Morgan, you and Prentiss are with me; we’re going to search the streets for him,” he looked at Kassidy and Spencer, “Hughes and Reid, you stay here. We’ll bring the witness in for an interview.”

Kassidy nodded, glad to finally be doing _something_ beside sit around all day, “Yes, sir!”

Morgan stood, stretching with a grin, “Let’s catch this sonofabitch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Let me know what you think~ <3  
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! <3
> 
> (also i love everyone who's been keeping up with my OC thank you all)


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